Country Doctor in Ukraine Faces Coronavirus Challenges
2021-01-25
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1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2A country doctor working in western Ukraine uses any form of transportation she can to see her patients.
3Sometimes Viktoria Mahnych rides her bicycle.
4Sometimes she takes her family's old car.
5Sometimes, she even travels in a horse-pulled cart.
6Doctor Mahnych cares for more than 2,000 patients who live in several villages in the Carpathian Mountains.
7Ukraine, a country of 42 million people, has recorded more than 1.1 million confirmed COVID-19 infections.
8Almost 20,000 Ukrainians have died of the disease.
9Doctor Mahnych told the Associated Press that she does not know how many of her patients have COVID-19.
10And right now, healthcare workers in the country are preparing for a sharp increase in the spread of the coronavirus.
11Most Ukrainians are Eastern Orthodox Christians.
12The religious group recently celebrated the Christmas season.
13Many went to restaurants, parties, and church services to observe the holidays.
14Many attended such events without wearing face covers, called masks, or taking other measures to prevent coronavirus from spreading.
15Doctor Mahnych says she fears that these holiday activities will cause a sudden and speedy increase in new coronavirus infections.
16This will make her already difficult job even more so.
17On January 8, Ukraine entered a 17-day-long lockdown aimed at stopping new infections.
18The measure closed schools, theaters and other entertainment places.
19Restaurant operations are limited to carry out service.
20However, some regions have refused to obey the government measure.
21The mayors of two towns -- Ternopil and Cherkasy -- said their cities will not observe the restrictions.
22Each town has a population of more than 200,000 people.
23Many medical workers say the lockdown came too late, anyway.
24If the lockdown had covered the holidays, Mahnych said, "it would have had a positive impact on the number of coronavirus infections."
25Mahnych and hundreds of other Eastern Orthodox Christians gathered for the Christmas service at a church in the village of Iltsi.
26They lined up to kiss Christian holy objects, as is tradition.
27Many did not wear masks.
28Mahnych said other churchgoers forced her to take off her mask.
29They said they did not want to think about the pandemic.
30Also, Maynych does not wear full personal protective equipment during patient visits because it frightens people.
31She told of one incident where locals threatened her because of her protective clothing.
32Mahnych told the AP she is worried about the state of the nation's healthcare system.
33She said it does not get enough financial support and has been weakened by reforms.
34She and other doctors are putting their hopes on the vaccination effort.
35Vaccinations are expected to start in March.
36Mahnych says she has been working day and night without any time off and rarely sees her family.
37She told reporters, "I don't have any time or energy left."
38And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2A country doctor working in western Ukraine uses any form of transportation she can to see her patients. Sometimes Viktoria Mahnych rides her bicycle. Sometimes she takes her family's old car. Sometimes, she even travels in a horse-pulled cart. 3Doctor Mahnych cares for more than 2,000 patients who live in several villages in the Carpathian Mountains. 4Ukraine, a country of 42 million people, has recorded more than 1.1 million confirmed COVID-19 infections. Almost 20,000 Ukrainians have died of the disease. Doctor Mahnych told the Associated Press that she does not know how many of her patients have COVID-19. 5And right now, healthcare workers in the country are preparing for a sharp increase in the spread of the coronavirus. 6Most Ukrainians are Eastern Orthodox Christians. The religious group recently celebrated the Christmas season. Many went to restaurants, parties, and church services to observe the holidays. Many attended such events without wearing face covers, called masks, or taking other measures to prevent coronavirus from spreading. 7Doctor Mahnych says she fears that these holiday activities will cause a sudden and speedy increase in new coronavirus infections. This will make her already difficult job even more so. 8New lockdowns 9On January 8, Ukraine entered a 17-day-long lockdown aimed at stopping new infections. The measure closed schools, theaters and other entertainment places. Restaurant operations are limited to carry out service. 10However, some regions have refused to obey the government measure. The mayors of two towns -- Ternopil and Cherkasy -- said their cities will not observe the restrictions. Each town has a population of more than 200,000 people. 11Many medical workers say the lockdown came too late, anyway. 12If the lockdown had covered the holidays, Mahnych said, "it would have had a positive impact on the number of coronavirus infections." 13Mahnych and hundreds of other Eastern Orthodox Christians gathered for the Christmas service at a church in the village of Iltsi. They lined up to kiss Christian holy objects, as is tradition. Many did not wear masks. Mahnych said other churchgoers forced her to take off her mask. They said they did not want to think about the pandemic. 14Also, Maynych does not wear full personal protective equipment during patient visits because it frightens people. She told of one incident where locals threatened her because of her protective clothing. 15Mahnych told the AP she is worried about the state of the nation's healthcare system. She said it does not get enough financial support and has been weakened by reforms. 16She and other doctors are putting their hopes on the vaccination effort. Vaccinations are expected to start in March. 17Mahnych says she has been working day and night without any time off and rarely sees her family. 18She told reporters, "I don't have any time or energy left." 19And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo. 20Mstyslav Chernov, Yuras Karmanau reported this story for the Associated Press from Kyiv, Ukraine. Anna Matteo presented it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 21______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23cart - n. a wagon with two wheels that is pulled by an animal (such as a horse or donkey) 24positive - adj. good or useful 25impact - n. a powerful or major influence or effect 26church - adj. a building that is used for Christian religious services