Occupiers begin preparing for cholera epidemic in Mariupol despite denials

Mykhailo Zahorodnii, Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia — Saturday, 11 June 2022

The Russian occupiers have publicly denied the threat of cholera in Mariupol but have begun preparing medical facilities for an epidemic.

According to Petro Andriushchenko, the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, despite this, the Russian occupying authorities want to open an infectious diseases unit, based on an ambulance, as a matter of urgency.

The city has already prepared four units in which to isolate patients; these previously treated people with COVID-19.

The occupiers also used them during street fighting in Mariupol to store about 600 bodies.

"An interesting detail is that the infectious diseases department is headed by a Russian man who came from Siberia on a "medical safari" to gain unique experience. This is like an embodiment of Bulgakov's "Notes of a Young Doctor" on the bones of Mariupol residents," Andriushchenko said.

The situation with burials in the city is still difficult, with a 10-day queue for permits, creating an additional threat of an epidemic during the summer.

In hot weather, Mariupol residents should keep the bodies of loved ones at home or in improvised morgues on the street. 

As a result, the number of home-made graves in the yards of residential neighbourhoods is increasing.

Background: Andriushchenko reported earlier about a medical collapse in Mariupol. There is a lack of medicines and doctors.

The Ministry of Health has also warned that the situation in the city is critical due to mass burials and lack of drinking water.

Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health, said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia, that there are threats of a number of other diseases in Mariupol besides cholera, such as dysentery and salmonellosis.