At the initiative of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (the UOC) delivered charitable aid to the regional children's clinical hospital in Chernivtsi city to help fight against coronavirus.
The support package included an up-to-date lung ventilator that can operate simultaneously for two patients, as well as one hundred reusable water-repellent protective suits and one hundred protective goggles for the medical staff of the hospital.
When handing over the equipment, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy thanked the Member of the Parliament, the founder of the Charitable Foundation in Honour of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God, Vadym Novynskyi for helping Chernivtsi region:'When I learned that the Charitable Foundation of my friend Vadym Novynskyi was delivering equipment and virus protection gear from China, I wanted to turn to him with a request to help the hospitals in my home region Bukovyna, but Vadym got ahead of me and was the first to offer such help, and these are really strategically important items today. In the challenging circumstances that we are experiencing today, the best human qualities are manifested – love and help to one's neighbour. It is very important for us, Orthodox Christians, along with adhering to the sanitation and hygiene requirements, to pray in order to overcome despair. We especially pray for our doctors who are at the forefront of dealing with this trouble,' said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy.
The Member of the Parliament, the founder of the Charitable Foundation in Honour of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God, Vadym Novynskyi, noted the contribution of the UOC to the fight against coronavirus:'Accept this fair share of contribution from our Church. By the way, such protective masks, very much needed today, are now being produced in the sewing workshops of the UOC. Peril knows no borders, no language, and no other differences. It hurts everyone, and if there is such an opportunity, we should help all Ukrainians – in Kherson, Chernivtsi, and in the temporarily uncontrolled territories. Together and with God's help, we will overcome this mischief. But let us remember that prayer is the main vaccine against the virus,' the parliamentarian emphasized.
According to the Head of Chernivtsi Regional State Administration Serhiy Osadchuk, today, more than ever, we need to value such joint efforts and need to help medical staff: 'Our people are the greatest value of our state. Thanks to both your charitable help and the unification of all of us around the common trouble, we will overcome this challenge and restore order in our country. This is our common responsibility, and this is our country.' The chief medical officer of Chernivtsi regional children's hospital, Roman Andriychuk, noted that the received equipment is expensive high-class equipment for providing intensive care according to modern standards. He said that the medical facility really had an urgent need for just such a device, which replenished the medical equipment pool of the intensive care unit to the necessary volume, and from now on the ICU will be able to render full scope of care to children. Currently, there are 15 children in the infectious diseases ward of the hospital, 14 of which are infected with coronavirus. According to doctors, their condition is satisfactory. None of the children are in intensive care. Over the past days, one child was checked out of hospital in stable health condition.