Ukraine, April 3, 2020
Photo: news.church.ua
Last week, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine called upon all of the Church’s hundreds of monasteries to prepare their premises to receive coronavirus patients, if necessary. He earlier called on all dioceses to materially assist medical institutions as well.
Many monasteries and churches have also been busying sewing medical masks that they then distribute for free.
And continuing its contribution to the fight against the contagious virus, the Church has distributed 100,000 tests for detecting COVID-19 throughout Ukraine, reports the Church’s Information-Education Department.
The tests were purchased by the Novinsky Holy Protection Foundation, headed by Deputy Vadim Novinsky, a great benefactor of the canonical Ukrainian Church.
The vital medical equipment was delivered by Ukrainian hierarchs to medical institutions in the Kherson, Poltava, Zaporozhye, and Nikolaev Provinces yesterday, April 2. The distribution of the tests was organized by the Ministry of Health and the Headquarters for Fighting the Coronavirus Epidemic of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
The Kherson and Zaprozhye Dioceses also donated life-saving protective medical gear.
Additionally, the UOC’s Synodal Department for Social and Humanitarian Issues has collected more than $3,100 (more than 88,000 hryvnia) for doctors who are fighting against the coronavirus, the Department reports.
The money was used to purchase 100 protective suits, 100 liters of disinfectant solution, 2,000 nitrile gloves, as well as paper towels, garbage bags, ingredients to make another 130 liters of disinfectant solution, and gauze and spunbond fabric for sewing medical masks, all of which will be donated to one of the hospitals in Kiev.
On March 25, Met. Onuphry and Deputy Novinsky donated a ventilator and protective suits to a children’s hospital in Chernivtsi, and on March 30, he gave a respirator and protective equipment to a hospital in Kiev.
