Not sure how media coverage works in Ukraine but, if it's anything like the U.S., it's best not to contract the coronavirus after publicly downplaying/spreading conspiracy theories about it because then you're just setting yourself up for ridicule while also having to deal with your illness. Not that you want to get it anyway, but, you know...just a little free advice.
On a related note, a prominant Ukrainian religious leader has tested positive for COVID-19 after laying fault for the pandemic at the feet of same-sex marriage earlier this year, NBC News reports. For those not up to date on their Ukrainian religious leaders, 91-year-old Patriarch Filaret leads a large Orthodox Church in the country. That church is called Kyiv Patriarchate.
On Friday, the church confirmed that Filaret contracted COVID-19. He's been hospitalized as a result.
On Tuesday, a status update was given in which the church said his condition was "stable," and that he was continuing to get treatment.
As reported by NBC News, that most recent statement asked others to "pray for His Holiness Patriarch Filaret, so that the All-Merciful and Almighty Lord God will heal the Patriarch."
In March, Filaret reportedly told a local TV station that the pandemic was “God’s punishment for the sins of men and sinfulness of humanity.”
He added to that by saying “First of all, I mean same-sex marriage. This is the cause of the coronavirus."
As a result of those comments, Insight, a Ukrainian LGBTQ rights group, filed a lawsuit against him. According to Insight's leader, the stated intent for that suit was "to show people that there is no longer place for such statements from church leaders in Ukraine." The lawsuit was looking to get an apology from Filaret for airing false information, in addition to getting a correction from the station that aired the remarks.
The church responded to that lawsuit with a statement in which they said, in part, "As the head of the church and as a man, the Patriarch has the freedom to express his views, which are based on morality."
Though it sounds like public opinion is changing in favor of LGBTQ rights, same sex unions aren't allowed in Ukraine.
As for how that country's dealt with the virus, the latest reports state that 3,000 people have been killed, and more than 140,000 have been infected.
