Bill on nationwide testing for COVID-19 registered in parliament

The bill was tabled by MPs from the Holos faction, the party's press service informs.

"Lockdown is just a way to temporarily curb the epidemic. The government should have used this time to prepare the system for countering COVID-19. We have developed and registered a new bill to provide tools to combat the pandemic. Outpatient testing points should be deployed across the country to finally test as many people as possible and identify contact points. Another priority should be the permanent testing and support of health care workers. They are at the highest risk, but like everyone else, they receive only 50% of their pay during self-isolation. We propose raising these payments to 100% of income and making testing among health workers a priority," said Olha Stefanyshyna, the author of the bill.

According to the report, the bill proposes introducing mass testing among the population in accordance with the recommendations of the CDC and WHO. The bill also provides for mandatory and prioritized regular testing of health workers for coronavirus. It is also planned to prioritize the testing of other workers involved in countering the coronavirus.

Ukraine reported 7,170 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 09:00 on April 23. A total of 187 patients died and 504 recovered. Some 578 new cases have been recorded in Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

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