Ukraine has entered a rather difficult period in terms of a new strain of coronavirus, the clinical picture of COVID-19 is changing and the incidence is growing, said Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov.

"We must understand that we have entered a rather difficult period in terms of a new strain of coronavirus. We see it, doctors say it, it is more contagious and more people get infected, it affects young people. We see changes in the clinical picture, it affects the central nervous system, kidneys, liver. A completely different clinical picture," he said on the air of Savik Shuster's Freedom of Speech (Svoboda Slova) program on Friday evening.

At the same time, commenting on the situation in Ivano-Frankivsk region, Stepanov noted the stabilization of the situation.

"In terms of the number of cases, I think the mayor [of Ivano-Frankivsk] will confirm this, in the last few days we have seen a stabilization of the situation, I mean that we do not have such an increase in the disease that we experienced. Ivano-Franskivsk region is no longer included in the top in terms of the number of cases," the minister said.