Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

Ukraine’s Minister of Health has caused outrage after comparing citizens over the age of 65 to “corpses” when speaking about the coronavirus pandemic

Doctor and incumbent Minister of Health of Ukraine, Ilya Yemets, 64, made the controversial statement when commenting on the country’s budget in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted that both local businesses and the government should mostly spend their money on people younger than 65 years old.

Yemets said: “We know the statistics of how many Ukrainians are living here who are above 65. I always say that financial experts should count on people who are still alive, and I am not threatening anyone.

“I keep on saying: people do the maths, how many financial resources we would need on living people, not corpses.”

The minister also added that he is convinced that businesses should take part in helping out the country in the times of pandemic.

Local media speculated that the minister could be sacked following the controversial statement, but this was not confirmed by the ministry.

Artem Dekhtiarenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, whose age is not reported, told Ukrainian TV channel 1+1 : “Health Minister Ilya Yemets is not going to resign.”

Ukraine has 113 confirmed COVID-19 cases and four deaths according to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University.

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