Industry association Lviv IT Cluster is launching ‘United for Health,’ a healthcare initiative to support this city of Western Ukraine and its region.
As Ukraine is entering its third week of quarantine, this initiative aims to mobilize the local IT community, the local authorities and the Coronavirus Emergency Operation Center to “prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help the citizens who tested positive in Lviv and Lviv region.”
As a first measure, Lviv IT Cluster will purchase express COVID-19 tests “for mass testing of the population.” The association notes that, while Ukraine ranks last in the ranking of countries by the number of tested for SARS-CoV-2, the most influential Ukrainian medical experts and media consider the lack of testing to be most pressing issue.
An infected person can develop the disease even without symptoms and spread it at the same time, the association reminds.
“Diagnosing the virus on a large scale can save millions of lives. Therefore, joining efforts of the IT community and the authorities, we aim to purchase 100,000 express COVID-19 antibody tests for Lviv, which will be accessible to all residents of the city and the region,” announced Lviv IT Cluster CEO Stepan Veselovsky.
Lviv IT Cluster plans to raise 5 million hryvnias (approximately $179,000 at the current exchange rate) in the first phase of the project to procure SARS-CoV-2 express tests.
The next steps will include, starting from March 30, a fundraising campaign to support the city’s medical facilities and emergency needs as well as the creation of a charity fund.
As of March 23, 61 people were being treated in Lviv Infectious Diseases Communal Clinical Hospital on suspected COVID-19 symptoms.
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