The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, at a meeting on Monday updated the list of quarantine restrictions at different levels of epidemic danger, in particular, it allowed businesses to operate in the “red” zones, subject to full vaccination of workers and visitors.
So, according to the explanation of the Ministry of Health on Facebook, there is a requirement for the mandatory wearing of masks in public buildings and transport in the “green” zone.
In the “yellow” zone, in addition to the mask mode and the need to maintain a distance, it is also prohibited:
– mass events with the participation of more than one person per 4 square meters of the area of the premises or territory;
– the congestion of cinemas and other cultural institutions by more than 50% of seats;
– the congestion of gyms and fitness centers is more than one person by 10 square meters;
– the work of educational institutions, except for those where at least 80% of employees have a “yellow” or “green” COVID certificate.
These restrictions will not apply if more than 80% of staff and 100% of visitors, except for persons under 18, are vaccinated against COVID-19 with one or two doses and have presented the corresponding certificate.
Restrictions peculiar to “yellow” zone are applied to the “orange” zone. Local authorities may impose additional restrictions.
In the “red” epidemiological zone, it is prohibited:
– the work of public catering, except for targeted delivery and take-out orders;
– work of shopping and entertainment centers, cinemas, theaters, entertainment establishments, cultural institutions, except for historical and cultural reserves, film and video filming;
– operation of non-food markets and shops, gyms, swimming pools and fitness centers;
– work of educational institutions, except for those where 100% of employees are vaccinated with two doses;
– holding mass events, except for official sports events and matches of team playing sports without spectators;
– operation of hotels, hostels, etc.
– The restrictions will not apply if all staff and all visitors, except those under 18, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic in Ukraine is starting to decline, the situation in many regions is stabilizing, Health Minister of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov said.
“We have withstood another jump in the incidence of COVID-19, and gradually the situation started to improve. Now in many regions the situation is stabilizing. We have been observing a decline in incidence in Ukraine within ten days,” he wrote on the Facebook page on Wednesday.
Stepanov said that on the eve of Tuesday, April 13, “was the first day when the number of people discharged from hospitals exceeded the number of hospitalized people by 22.8%.”
He also said that 2,000 fewer patients were admitted to hospitals last week than a week earlier, and several regions, in particular Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia, left the “red” zone.
At the same time, Stepanov said “some regions, in particular the city of Kyiv, as well as Kyiv, Lviv and Poltava regions, continue to be in the ‘red’ zone of increased epidemic danger and the situation there remains extremely difficult.”
“It is very important to continue adhering to the established restrictions and anti-epidemic measures: wearing masks, using antiseptics, avoiding crowds of people,” the minister said.
Ukraine must carefully prepare a vaccination campaign against COVID-19, otherwise the vaccination mechanism will not stop the epidemic, said head of the KSE Center for Health Economics, ex-Deputy Minister of Health Pavlo Kovtoniuk.
“We believe that without an emergency and massive vaccination campaign, Ukraine will not be able to use the tool [vaccination] in such a way that it somehow has at least a little impact on the distribution pattern,” he said during the weekly online presentation of KSE on Thursday.
Kovtoniuk noted that according to the calculations of the KSE, even in the “ideal world” Ukraine will not be able to vaccinate risk groups. In particular, if you vaccinate the greatest risk group – people over 55 years old, who, according to statistics, most often get sick with COVID-19, it will be necessary to vaccinate 13.5 million people in Ukraine.
According to KSE calculations, for such a vaccination “in an ideal world, when everyone has the vaccine and everyone came to the vaccination rooms at the same time, and all 6,580 vaccination rooms will work eight hours without breaks and weekends, and all these people will receive two doses of the vaccine,” six months will be needed.
“Even in ideal conditions, when everything comes along, we will be able to vaccinate the category of older people in only six months. But we understand that people do not come to vaccination rooms in an organized manner, that vaccines will not be delivered in proportional way, that some of the vaccines will come on the initiative of COVAX, and some will have to be bought, and they will be delivered at different times. There will be many more factors that will slow down this process. And only 36% of the population will be able to get vaccinated. We are not talking about herd immunity,” said Kovtoniuk.
“If we simply give people the opportunity to vaccinate at will, the process will drag on for years and even then the main risk groups will not be vaccinated. And in fact we do not use this tool,” he stressed.
Kovtoniuk believes it is most likely that “we will live in one mode or another with COVID-19 throughout 2021.”
“Vaccination will be one of the ways to combat COVID-19, but it will not be a miracle weapon that will destroy COVID-19. Other methods of struggle will continue to work: this is a powerful testing system that needs to be built, it is also powerful, I would say the aggressive contact tracing system that needs to be built is quarantine restrictions, which will still be present,” he said.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal declares that Ukraine experiences an optimistic forecast of the development of the epidemic in the country.
“We are heading in accordance with an optimistic forecast for the development of the epidemic in Ukraine,” he said at an extraordinary government meeting on Monday.
The premier also noted that Ukraine is approaching a “plateau” when there are no significant increases in the disease rate.
Advisor to the President of Ukraine on Economics Oleh Ustenko took part in an online meeting with leading businessmen belonging to the CEO Club Ukraine, during which issues related to the development of the Ukrainian economy during the quarantine and the global economic crisis, as well as measures to minimize its negative impact for Ukraine were addressed.
“The presidential advisor answered questions of Ukrainian business, shared his forecasts and scenarios for the development of the economic situation in the country, noting that Ukraine has a good basis for rapid stabilization and growth after the coronavirus epidemic,” the presidential office’s press service said on Thursday.
Ustenko separately dwelt on the issue of adapting the economic strategy of Ukraine to the new operating conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, assuring the business community that the economic system of the state is now under full control.
“Within the framework of the presidential anti-crisis policy, the government and parliament have already adopted two packages of anti-crisis measures, and now the third is being developed, which will include measures to protect businesses from the effects of the epidemic and the global crisis,” the report says.
Ustenko noted the need for everyone to remain, above all, humane during the crisis and not fall into despair.
“We are living in such a difficult time, but we must always remember that there is someone for whom it is much more difficult now. If you helped the weak, please continue to do so. Our financial opportunities during the crisis are reduced. However, it’s important to withdraw from this crisis cleaner and better, more humane and socially responsible,” he stressed.
