The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation transfers equipment to detect coronavirus to medical workers of Mariupol

The Mariupol branch of the Donetsk Regional Laboratory Centre of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine received QuantStudio™5 complete with SARS-CoV-2 onestep RT-PCR, CE-IVD and E Series 120 cm biosafety box, MSC-IIA-E120, Metisafe. This equipment will allow doctors to qualitatively determine COVID-19, which causes severe complications, in laboratory conditions. The equipment was purchased and handed over to Donbass doctors as personally decided upon by the Founder of the Foundation Rinat Akhmetov.

“The global menace of a pandemic has brought many problems along in the medical sphere of the country. Both the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and the SCM representations in different corners of the country, jointly with the Ministry of Health and crisis centres, are now solving these problems. To prevent Donbass physicians from sending materials for analysis in laboratories of other areas, by the Founder's personal decision, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation purchased and passed an analyzer, which produces highly accurate test results, to Mariupol medical workers. The precision of the results and the ability to conduct on-site analysis will greatly increase the detection efficiency of the infected and help combat the spread of COVID-19. The analyzer transferred to Mariupol is part of the infection protection barrier which the Foundation began to fence by sending 300,000 rapid tests to the regions. Quick identification and isolation of the carrier is one of the main ways to combat the epidemic,” Natalia Yemchenko, a member of the Foundation's Supervisory Board, said.

Volodymyr Tereshchenko, head of the Mariupol branch of Donetsk Regional Laboratory Centre state institution of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, says that QuantStudio ™ 5 is one of the most modern coronavirus sample analyzer devices of its class.

“Earlier, there were no such cutting-edge devices in Donetsk Region. It is credible, accurate and fast. It produces the result in just a few hours. Just imagine that we used to bring the selected biomaterial to Kyiv or Sloviansk. Now getting the results will greatly accelerate and expand our ability to combat coronavirus. We will work not only for Mariupol but for the whole region as well. We have device's resources. I am very grateful to Rinat Akhmetov for his timely assistance,” Volodymyr Tereshchenko said.

Mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko, believes that the effectiveness of combating coronavirus will now increase significantly throughout the region and explained how important public medicine support is.

“Supporting each other and supporting medicine is the most important thing today. In February, Rinat Akhmetov began helping the country, including Mariupol. A compete program was developed. Our city received 15,000 tests that week. Now the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation has handed us unique equipment. This analyzer will save a lot of time for doctors. Thus, sending test results to Kyiv will not be obligatory anymore. We express our gratitude for this timely gift! Moreover, I am convinced that we will soon beat this pandemic through joint efforts of medical, business, regional and central authorities” Vadym Boichenko said.

“It is beyond argument that this generous gift and assistance from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation is a significant contribution to our fight against the coronavirus. On behalf of the regional state administration I would like to express my sincere gratitude to both the Foundation and personally to the Founder of the Foundation for such assistance,” Mykola Trofymenko, adviser of the Head of the Donetsk Region Regional State Administration, said.

The Founder of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation gave directions to purchase 300,000 coronavirus rapid tests for medical workers of Ukraine and therefore transferred them to the Stabilization Foundation created under the President of Ukraine.

The tests have already been submitted to public hospitals in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and Kyiv regions, as well as the city of Kyiv.

Rinat Akhmetov sent 300 million UAH in fight against COVID-19. Therefore, he pooled all the resources from the Charitable Foundation, FC Shakhtar, DTEK, Metinvest and other SCM assets in order to help 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 – 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 by the Foundation to all regions of the country 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 Sukhanov and the famous journalist Savik Shuster – engage in the videos hag tagged #ParentsATHOME.