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Rinat Akhmetov Foundation passes on 300,000 coronavirus rapid tests to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine

03.04.2020

The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation passed on 300,000 rapid tests to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to detect COVID-19. This is a contribution to the Stabilization Foundation created by the President in the fight against coronavirus. Today, rapid testing is the fastest and necessary step to detect the disease and contain the epidemic.

“When the whole world and Ukraine itself faced the threat of the coronavirus spread, by personal decision of Rinat Akhmetov, the Foundation was the first in the country to respond to the danger of the epidemic. We promptly purchased special equipment and personal protective equipment for medical workers. The Foundation is currently passing 300,000 COVID-19 rapid tests to Ukraine. These tests are passed on to state hospitals throughout the country. They are to be used free of charge. The tests are designed for initial diagnosis. They will help to diagnose the virus quickly and isolate its carriers in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic,” Natalya Yemchenko, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation, said.

She also added that Rinat Akhmetov allocated 300 million UAH to combat COVID-19. To help the country, he combined all the resources: the Charitable Foundation, FC Shakhtar, DTEK, Metinvest. In particular, at least 200 ventilators and other equipment are still to be purchased.

“It was a separate and difficult task. Indeed, at this point, about 200 countries require such medical equipment and we have to look for suppliers around the world. The Foundation coped with this task – we have the contracts executed. Now, we have to deal with another difficult task – deliver these ventilators to Ukraine in batches. The Foundation is actively working on this task,” Natalya Yemchenko said.

The assistant to the head coach and ambassador of FC Shakhtar, Dario Srna, was publicly tested for COVID-19.

“300,000 tests from Rinat Akhmetov are very supportive to the whole Ukraine. I am sure that people see and appreciate this. There exists a tactic to combat coronavirus, and such tests are part of the tactic. If we do more tests, we will know more about the virus spreading stage. However, no tactic works without discipline. Therefore, the most important today is to have discipline. I did the test because I and my family are disciplined. We do everything the doctors say. This is a rule following which it is easy to defeat the coronavirus,” Dario Srna said.

He also urged all Ukrainians to observe the quarantine rigidly.

Accepting the charitable transfer certificate of 300,000 rapid tests as charitable assistance, Ihor Kuzin, acting Director General of the State Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine said:

“It is very significant that the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation facilitates constantly and provides the country with the technical assistance that is most important in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Rapid tests will be distributed across the key regions. This will be the closely balanced measure so that doctors can quickly make effective epidemiological decisions. Much obliged.”

President of the Association of Anesthetists, Doctor of Medical Sciences Sergii Dubrov told how the tests handed over by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation work:

“It takes only 15 minutes to do the test. Blood is sampled from a vein, dripped onto sample well, and you can see the result in 15 minutes. These tests are highly effective. They are not like the ones that caused a stir in Spain. They used another diagnostic method – the antigen method. These tests detect antibodies-immunoglobulins and have very high sensitivity. They will help to sort patients during hospitalization properly and thereby reduce the number of in-hospital infections. 300,000 tests from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation are tremendous support to Ukraine.”

Back in February, Rinat Akhmetov gave directions to the Foundation to be the first in the country to respond to the global threat of a coronavirus pandemic. The equipment to effectively treat the complications caused by COVID-19 – the Swedish SERVO-I UNIVERSAL і SERVO AIR high-end ventilators and oxygen concentrators – has already been purchased and transferred to the Ministry of Health.

In particular, ventilators from the Foundation have been installed in the Poltava Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital, Rivne Central City Hospital and Zakarpattia Regional Hospital. The named hospitals in Poltava and Rivne also have oxygen concentrators for ventilators installed. A separate concentrator from the Foundation was delivered to the Volyn Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital. The number of medical facilities that have already received equipment from the Foundation was determined by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

The Foundation also purchased personal protective equipment for Ukrainian doctors: EgoZlin biobag EBV – a unique insulating mobile box to transport infectious patients; EOBO-20 EgoZlin – a protective biological and anti-chemical suit with filter and ventilation set; anti-chemical disposable overalls; infrared thermometers with a laser pointer; multilayer respirators;  protective masks and goggles.

Another 22 ventilators were installed in neonatal ambulances and transferred to all regions of the country by the Foundation as part of the “200 ambulances for Ukraine” project.

The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation is also purchasing coronavirus sample analyzers with test cartridges for them.

In partnership with the Ministry of Digital Development, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation created educational TV-series for teachers (“Quarantine: Online Services for Teachers”) and schoolchildren (“Digital Physical Education for Schoolchildren with Sport Stars”). Video courses are posted on the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation's Facebook page and Youtube channel.

Jointly with TRK Ukraina, the Foundation created social videos urging older people to comply with the rule of thumb during the quarantine – Stay at Home. The TRK Ukraina TV-presenters and the ambassadors of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation – Ihor Pupkov, Oleh Paniuta, Hryhorii Herman, Oleksii – engage in the videos hag tagged #ParentsATHOME.