Stepanov urges Ukrainians with any ARVI symptoms to appeal to family doctors for tests

09:26, 06.01.2021 1 min read

Ukrainians should contact family doctors with any symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections for collection of material or rapid testing for the COVID-19 antigen, and in case of refusal to contact the hotline of the Ministry of Health, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday, January 5.

He also said that Ukraine is conducting little testing compared to existing capabilities.

"Now we conduct few tests in comparison with our capabilities, which allow us to conduct more than 55,000 PCR tests per day in the laboratories of the Ministry of Health. There are also private laboratories and laboratories of medical institutions. Together, this is about 70,000-75,000 tests per day. In addition to PCR testing, we have introduced rapid antigen testing, which needs to be provided for people with any symptoms of ARVI, as well as for contact persons," the minister said.