Quarantine in Ukraine will be extended until May 11. Only after this date will a phased lifting or easing of restrictions begin.
This was announced by the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, during a Cabinet of Ministers meeting on Wednesday, April 22.
He began by thanking everyone who responsibly followed government recommendations and stayed home to celebrate Easter. According to him, it is due to the early implementation of quarantine measures that Ukraine currently has one of the lowest COVID-19 fatality rates — 2.7%.
“However, modeling by the NAS of Ukraine and data from the Ministry of Health indicate that we have not yet passed the peak of infections, which may come in early May. Based on this, the Government will today adopt a decision to extend quarantine until May 11. We have a very clear exit plan. It consists of five stages,” the Prime Minister noted.
He stressed that implementation of the plan will begin only under favorable epidemiological conditions — tentatively from May 12. To do so, certain conditions must be met: if, over 10 days, the percentage of detected cases remains stable or fluctuates within 5%, and hospitals are less than 50% full with COVID-19 patients.
“After that, we follow the roadmap for exiting quarantine and implement the next four stages. At the same time, we have several important tasks to complete by May 11,” he added.
These tasks include increasing COVID-19 testing, improving supplies to hospitals and medical staff, introducing e-control of self-isolation as an alternative to quarantine facilities, and establishing new operating rules for service establishments with mandatory social distancing, mask usage, and ongoing disinfection.
“If everything goes well and the epidemic situation improves, then on May 11 we will be able to discuss reopening parks and public gardens, non-food retail stores, and some personal service establishments. Other easing measures may also be introduced, but we will discuss those later,” Shmyhal emphasized.
According to the Prime Minister, such steps will help return some people to work, improve the emotional well-being of Ukrainians, and jump-start economic recovery.
He also acknowledged that both citizens and businesses are struggling: “That’s why we are implementing a number of measures to support Ukrainians. In particular, we are increasing unemployment benefits, expanding business support programs, effectively introducing credit holidays, raising pensions, and creating new jobs today.”
Shmyhal also drew attention to the wildfires in the Zhytomyr region, noting that the Cabinet of Ministers is monitoring the situation and is ready to allocate 25 million UAH for recovery efforts and assistance to those affected.
Source link: https://www.kmu.gov.ua/news/denis-shmigal-mi-prodovzhuyemo-karantin-i-mayemo-chitkij-plan-vihodu-z-nogo
