Quoted by the Interfax news agency, Yushchenko said the epidemic was spreading at a furious pace, with a total of 48 deaths and around 150,000 people sick.
The president said that alone in Lviv region in the country's west, more than 60,000 people had been infected with the H1N1 virus.
All schools, kindergartens, and universities were closed for a three-week period on Friday. A ban on massed gatherings - forcing the wholesale cancellation of concerts and political rallies - was also in effect.
Ukraine's national security council also approved the equivalent of 55 million dollars in emergency funding, for swine flu control, and earlier Saturday the Ukrainian government announced new measures to control the spread of the virus.
Health Minister Vasyl Kniazevych told Channel 5 television that the flu was thought still to be limited to the country's western provinces as of Saturday morning, but because of the number of suspected cases, a spread was likely.
'The country must prepare for a wider outbreak,' Kniazevych said. 'Its direction of movement is towards central Ukraine.'
Source: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/health/news/article_1510560.php/Ukraine-s-swine-flu-death-toll-rises-to-nearly-50-Roundup 
