Ukraine's rising COVID-19 toll and a football setback in late November 2020
A look back at the final days of November 2020, when daily infection figures climbed in Ukraine and the national team lost a Nations League ruling.
How did Ukraine's last days of November 2020 look, as the pandemic pushed daily case numbers higher? By 30 November 2020, the country had spent several days setting new single-day highs.
On 26 November, Ukraine reported 15,331 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 677,189. The next day, 27 November, the daily figure rose again to 16,218, and the nationwide total reached 693,407.
On 28 November, the count climbed once more: 16,294 new cases were reported over 24 hours, a new daily high, and the total passed 700,000. Three consecutive daily highs in three days marked the period immediately before 30 November.
A setback on the football pitch
Away from the pandemic, there was disappointing news for sports followers. On 25 November, the UEFA appeals committee awarded a technical defeat to Ukraine's national team in its UEFA Nations League 2020–2021 match against Switzerland, which had been due to take place on 17 November. As a result, Ukraine was to play in Division B in the following season.
Together, the two strands of news defined the days leading up to 30 November 2020: a public health situation in which each new day brought a higher number of infections, and a ruling that settled the national football team's place in the next Nations League season.
