Authorities report 38 more dead in Ukraine cold spell, total passes 100 The USA Times

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Authorities report 38 more dead in Ukraine cold spell, total passes 100

(AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

KIEV, Ukraine - Ukrainian authorities have recorded 38 more deaths due to a severe cold spell, bringing the total over the past week to 101.

The Emergency Situations Ministry said on its website Friday that more than 1,200 other people have been hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite as temperatures in some parts of the country sank to minus 32 Celsius (minus 26 Fahrenheit).

Authorities have closed schools and colleges and set up nearly 3,000 heating and food shelters across the country. Health officials instructed hospitals to refrain from discharging homeless patients, even after treatment is finished, to save them from the cold.

Still, experts said the high death toll reflects the country's inability to deal with the homeless.