SOCIO-GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF THE EMERGENCE AND SPREAD OF COVID-19 IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The main purpose of the article is to classify the regions of Ukraine according to the level of morbidity indicators during the first COVID-19 wave in the state, which сclearly display regional demographic, socio-economic and physiographic features. During the research scientific works of V. Baranovskyi, S. Batychenko, V. Hutsuliak, N. Mezentseva, K. Mezentsev, L. Niemets, V. Shevchenko, O. Shablii, A. Barkova were used, as well as works of other scientists who concentrated their attention on the territorial specifics of disease spread in the context of regions’ socio–demographic security. To carry out complex analysis of Ukraine’s epidemic situation authors used a number of common and specific methods, in particular, comparative-geographical, mathematical-statistical, cartographic methods, logical generalization, comparison and systematization, induction, deduction and structural analysis. A research novelty consists in the presentation of a chart of the epidemiology districting of the territory of Ukraine, according to the сcurrent dynamic of morbidity indicators and socio-economic features of regions’ development. This districting will help to localize the scales of COVID-19 pandemic’s distribution, to avoid considerable demographic losses among population and can be used for the development of regional strategies to increase efficiency of quarantine limitations. The current epidemic situation in Ukraine, related to the intensive distribution of COVID-19, is characterized by considerable territorial disproportions, ignoring which increases scales of the new COVID-19 pandemic wave, which comes forward as the main factor of the industrial complex decline complex and entry of the country in the period of deep recession. To avoid the negative tendency of the disease distribution, it is necessary to revise the policy of preventive action, which currently foresees only medical aspects and implementation complex of medicogeographical quarantine limitations, which take into account socio-geographical features of regions’ development. It will enable minimizing between regional distributions of the virus and will promote the efficiency of quarantine measures according to specific of the selected epidemiology regions.