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A pistillate wearing successful look disguise to curb the dispersed of COVID-19 passes street's cafe successful Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. Coronavirus infections and deaths successful Ukraine person surged to all-time highs amid a laggard gait of vaccination, which is 1 of the lowest successful Europe. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

KYIV – Ukraine's coronavirus infections and deaths reached all-time highs for a 2nd consecutive time Friday, successful a increasing situation for the state with 1 of Europe's lowest shares of vaccinated people.

Ukrainian wellness authorities reported 23,785 caller confirmed infections and 614 deaths successful the past 24 hours.

Authorities successful the capital, Kyiv, unopen schools for 2 weeks starting Friday, and akin measures were ordered successful different areas with precocious contagion levels.

Authorities person blamed surging infections connected a sluggish gait of vaccination successful the federation of 41 million. Ukrainians tin freely take betwixt Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines, but lone astir 15% of the colonisation is afloat vaccinated, Europe’s lowest level aft Armenia.

Overall, the state has registered implicit 2.7 cardinal infections and astir 63,000 deaths.

The steep emergence successful contagion has prompted the authorities to tighten restrictions. Starting Thursday, impervious of vaccination oregon a antagonistic trial is required to committee planes, trains and long-distance buses.

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A achromatic marketplace for counterfeit vaccination certificates has blossomed amid the restrictions, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chaired a gathering earlier this week connected ways of combating the amerciable practice.

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said constabulary person opened 800 transgression cases concerning the usage of specified certificates, adding that the ministry deployed 100 mobile units to way down their holders, who would look terrible punishment.

He said that a erstwhile lawmaker, Nadiya Savchenko, produced a fake impervious of vaccination arsenic she returned to Ukraine Friday.

Police said they fishy workers astatine 15 hospitals crossed the state of engagement successful issuing mendacious vaccination certificates.

To promote vaccination, authorities person started offering shots successful buying malls. As infections soared, skeptical attitudes began to alteration and a grounds fig of much than 270,000 radical received vaccines implicit the past 24 hours.

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