President: Ukraine has passed first stage of pandemic with minimal losses

“We survived the first stage and passed it with minimal losses. Yes, we are seeing the forecasted economic downturn and drop in GDP. But it affected everyone. Compared to many European countries, our decline is smaller as well as the COVID-19 mortality rate," President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address on the internal and external situation in Ukraine to the Verkhovna Rada, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to Zelensky, the COVID-19 mortality rate in Germany is 4%, in France - 9%, in the United Kingdom - 11%, in Ukraine - 1.9%.

The President noted that the authorities succeeded in saving people's lives.

At the same time, the Head of State said that all citizens, including MPs, should observe safety measures.

"A mask on your face is the safety of other people," the President said.

As noted, clinical trials of Ukrainian drugs for the treatment of COVID-19, which significantly minimize the risk of complications and death, are currently carried out.

As of October 20, Ukraine has reported 309,107 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 5,469 cases recorded over the past 24 hours.

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