Ukrainian president taken to hospital with Covid

On Wednesday, Ukraine approved a national lockdown on weekends till 30 November

File: Volodymyr Zelensky tested positive earlier this week, alongside several of his top ministers (AFP via Getty Images)

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has been hospitalised after he tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week, with several of his top officials also being infected.

“He first went home, but decided to move to Feofania (hospital)," a presidential spokesperson said. "To accurately isolate and not expose anyone. There are better conditions for patients. Nothing serious.”

The virus has this week had a major impact among the upper echelons of the Ukrainian government, with the country’s finance minister, defence minister and the president’s top aide all testing positive.

On Wednesday, Mr Zelensky's government approved a national lockdown on weekends until at least 30 November to control the virus’s rapid spread.

Mr Zelensky announced that he had tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. “There are no lucky people for whom [Covid-19] does not pose a threat. Despite all the quarantine measures, I received a positive test," he said.

"I feel good and take a lot of vitamins. Promise to isolate myself, but keep working. I will overcome Covid-19 as most people do. It's gonna be fine!” tweeted Mr Zelensky, a popular actor and comedian who became president in 2019.  

According to the World Health Organisation, Ukraine has so far recorded over 489,000 cases of coronavirus including 8,947 deaths.  

Since early October, similar to other European countries, Ukraine has also witnessed a spike in the number of new Covid-19 cases, putting pressure on the country’s health infrastructure.  Over the past few weeks, the daily number of new Covid-19 cases has consistently averaged over 5,000.