President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky promised to punish the organizers of the riots in the village of Novye Sanzhary of the Poltava region due to the placement of citizens evacuated from China in connection with an outbreak of coronavirus infection. He stated this in a video message posted on Facebook.

“We know that some people deliberately sowed panic among people, and then incited to this savagery. Customers and perpetrators will be held accountable, ”said the Ukrainian leader.

Zelensky noted that “virologists in tracksuits” were involved in the incident, adding that the faces of the perpetrators were recorded by surveillance cameras. He also said that the situation with the return of citizens from China, affected by the epidemic of coronavirus, was another exam for Ukrainian society.

It is worth noting that, commenting on the riots the day before, Zelensky compared Ukraine to medieval Europe.

“We often say that Ukraine is Europe. So, yesterday in some episodes it seemed that we were Europe from the Middle Ages, ”said the Ukrainian president.

Also on russian.rt.com RT map: in which countries a new coronavirus is detected

At the same time, it became known that the head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Zoryana Skaletska left the sanatorium where the evacuated citizens were placed. Recall that Skaletskaya said on the eve that she intends to spend two weeks in the sanatorium together with those who have returned from China in order to influence the situation.

“I made the decision to join the people in the observation. Together with them I will spend the next 14 days - in the same room, under the same conditions, ”she said.

As the head of the Bely Sanzhary medical center, Alexander Blinov, told the Nash Ukrainian television channel, the minister left the sanatorium, but promised to return. He added that the head of the Ministry of Health will be housed in a separate house, as "she needs to work on government issues."

The riots in Novy Sanzhary began after it became known about the authorities' intention to place 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreigners in the local sanatorium, who were taken to Kharkov airport from Wuhan, which became the epicenter of the outbreak of coronavirus infection. The two-week quarantine crew will also accommodate the crew of the airliner and doctors accompanying the Ukrainians.

When the evacuees were brought to the sanatorium by bus, local residents tried to block the passage by building impromptu road barriers, and then began to throw stones and bottles at the buses. Ukrainian media also reported alleged threats to set the medical center on fire with people.

It is worth noting that the local authorities, choosing a place for quarantine, also considered the possibility of placing people in the village of Konopkovka, Ternopil region, the village of Kozin near Kiev, or in the city of Vinniki, Lviv region. The reaction of residents in all settlements was also sharply negative - they dug ditches, exposed concrete blocks and laid out car tires.

This behavior caused a wave of condemnation both in Ukraine itself and beyond. In particular, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called what was happening "monstrous dehumanization of civil society and the disorganization of governance."

Recall that earlier Russia evacuated its citizens from Hubei province, where in December a new type of coronavirus outbreak COVID-2019 began. A total of 144 people were taken out of the PRC; they spent two weeks in quarantine in a specially equipped center in the Tyumen Region. None of them had a disease, on February 19, the Russians were released.

In addition, Russia on February 20 temporarily suspended the passage of Chinese citizens across the state border. The measure will affect residents of the PRC who travel to the Russian Federation in order to carry out labor activities, as well as in private, educational and tourist ones.

The Kyrgyz government also decided to suspend the issuance of visas to Chinese citizens amid an outbreak of coronavirus infection.

The number of cases of new coronavirus worldwide exceeded 77 thousand, more than 2,300 people became victims of the disease. The disease can occur both in mild form and cause pneumonia and breathing problems that can lead to death. Doctors say that the virus poses the greatest danger to the elderly. There is currently no vaccine for coronavirus.

The infection, which first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan, spread to almost 30 countries in two months. Already two deaths were recorded in Europe - on February 15, an 80-year-old Chinese citizen hospitalized in Paris died, and on February 22, the death of a 78-year-old patient in Italy became known. The Italian media also reported the death of the second sick person in the country, but this information has not received official confirmation.

Chinese Ambassador to Moscow Zhang Hanhui said that the PRC authorities will be able to defeat the coronavirus throughout the country by the end of March.

“At the center of the epidemic, perhaps within the next month we will completely eliminate this virus in China,” the TASS ambassador quotes.

According to him, in other regions except Hubei, victory over the infection is not ruled out already during February.

In turn, the first vice mayor of Wuhan, Hu Yabo, said that the city’s authorities plan to open 19 more temporary hospitals for those infected. Recall that in connection with the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, a hospital with an area of ​​25 thousand square meters was built in ten days. m, designed for about a thousand patients. Construction began on January 23, on February 3, he received the first group of patients.