In Lviv region, a "mask mandate" has been introduced in hospitals, while schools have switched to remote learning.

Starting from February 18, schools in the Lviv region will transition to remote learning. This decision was made by the regional administration's commission on technogenic-ecological safety and emergency situations due to a sharp increase in ARVI cases. Hospitals are implementing a "mask regime," restricting patient visits and prohibiting mass events indoors. This information was reported by the chairman of the Lviv Regional State Administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, on Monday, February 17.

Maria Ozirkovska, Deputy General Director of the Lviv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention, noted during a briefing that the illness rate exceeds the epidemic threshold by 46%, indicating a high level of epidemic intensity. Over the past week, more than 15,000 cases of illness were recorded, which is a 22% increase compared to the previous week.

She also mentioned that a significant proportion of the sick are children aged 5 to 14, accounting for 53% of the total. The Lviv region predominantly reports cases of influenza types A and B, as well as the circulation of other respiratory viruses, including adenoviruses and parainfluenza viruses.

The Director of the Education and Science Department of the Lviv Regional State Administration, Oleg Paska, explained that the commission decided to switch general secondary education institutions to remote learning for 11 days—from February 18 to 28.

He emphasized that this is not a quarantine measure, but rather an organization of education in an online format. According to him, teachers have sufficient experience working with remote platforms, which will ensure the continuity of the educational process.

Currently, there is no information regarding potential changes in the educational process in Lviv itself. Preliminary reports indicate that the city's schools do not plan to transition to remote learning at this time.

It is worth noting that since January, the incidence of ARVI, influenza, and COVID-19 has been on the rise in Ukraine. In some regions, schools have already switched to remote learning.

On February 12, the Ministry of Health warned that due to the increase in ARVI cases in the Transcarpathian, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, and Chernivtsi regions, "local quarantine" may be implemented.