From Saturday, May 1, Kyiv plans to weaken quarantine restrictions, said mayor of the capital Vitali Klitschko during a briefing.
“This morning, the State Commission on Environmental Safety, Manmade Disaster and Emergency Response of the city decided to weaken anti-epidemic measures in the capital. We hope that the State Commission will also decide to review the level of epidemic danger and withdraw the capital from the ‘red’ zone,” the mayor’s press service quoted him as saying.
Klitschko noted that from May 1, all ground public transport and the metro will restore passenger transportation in the usual mode.
“In compliance with previously defined anti-epidemic norms and rules. But I urge residents of the capital to use public transport only in case of emergency,” the mayor of Kyiv said.
He noted that from May 1, the operation of trade establishments, shopping and entertainment centers, markets, fairs, catering establishments, gyms and fitness centers will be restored.
“However, the owners of these establishments must understand that they work only in compliance with all safety standards! It is in your interests, because if the situation worsens again, new restrictions cannot be avoided!” stressed Klitschko.
The mayor of the capital also said that Administrative Service Centers will resume their work, however, they will host visitors by appointment through electronic services.
“From next Wednesday, May 5, the city will restore the educational process in general education institutions, preschool and higher educational institutions. Also, the capital will restore the acceptance of documents for enrolling children in the first grade for the next academic year,” the mayor of Kyiv said.
Ukraine has fulfilled all the obligations assumed during the meetings of the Mixed Commissions on International Road Freight Transport, but the Polish side does not honor the agreement at the presidential level, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has said.
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure, a working meeting of the Ministers of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland Vladyslav Krykliy and Andrzej Adamczyk was held in Kyiv on Monday, during which the Ukrainian minister pointed out the fact that Ukraine’s fulfillment of its obligations led to a significant increase in the share of use of permits for 2019 by Polish haulers.
Krykliy reiterated that Poland should lift transit restrictions for Ukrainian haulers, since this negatively affects not only trade relations between the two countries, but also with other EU countries.
At the same time, he said that Ukrainian haulers are ready to compete in the two-sided market.
The ministers of Ukraine and Poland also discussed the work of crossing points across the Ukrainian-Polish border, in particular, the Korcheva-Krakovets point.
In addition, Krykliy said that currently the Verkhovna Rada is expected to consider at second reading a bill that solves the problem of VAT payment by work performers and service providers under the so-called “Polish loan,” but asked the Polish side to speed up the work of the construction company to repair the crossing point.
The Ukrainian minister suggested that the Polish side conduct a joint audit to determine the possible reasons for the appearance of queues at the border crossing points with the involvement of a third independent party, and introduce general border and customs control at crossing points to increase their efficiency.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine published a decree by which it amended the criteria for adaptive lockdown and extended its validity until the end of 2020.
The text of decree No. 956 dated October 13 on amendments to decree No. 641 dated July 22 was released on the government’s official website.
The decree restricts the opening hours of restaurants and other catering establishments from 22:00 to 07:00, and also tightens the restriction on holding mass events (no more than 50 people in the “green” zones, up to 30 people in the “yellow,” up to 20 people in the “orange”). The Cabinet of Ministers also banned spectators from visiting sports events, except for international ones, on which the Health Ministry will make another decisions.
In addition, it is recommended that all business entities organize shift work of employees, if it is technically possible to work in real time via the Internet while maintaining salaries.
It is recommended that institutions of general secondary education establish holidays from October 15 to October 30, 2020, and institutions of vocational and higher education from October 15 to November 15, 2020 switch to distance learning with the recommended departure of students from hostels, except for those who cannot do this.
According to the decree, the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection should strengthen public control over compliance with sanitary legislation and anti-epidemic measures in the work of preschool education institutions, catering, physical education and sports, and trade.
Local authorities are advised to use additional units of public transport in order to avoid crowding in it and monitor compliance with anti-epidemic standards in the implementation of transportation.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA, Kyiv) canceled flights on eight destinations, reduced their frequency on seven more destinations.
According to the airline’s website, as a result of such measures, UIA is forced to revise the flight schedule and significantly reduce them. Starting from September 14, the following flights will be completely canceled: Kyiv-Zaporizhia, Kyiv-Madrid, Kyiv-Barcelona, Kyiv-Geneva, Kyiv-Delhi, Kyiv-Berlin, Kyiv-Chisinau, and also Kyiv-Athens (except for two flights). Flights on the route Kyiv-Kherson will be canceled from September 20.
In addition, the airline reduced the frequency of flights on the following routes: Kyiv-Odesa, Kyiv-Paris, Kyiv-Dusseldorf, Kyiv-Brussels, Kyiv-Dubai, Kyiv-Istanbul, and Kyiv-Tel Aviv.
“We now have to make a decision on the airline’s plans for the coming days, without having enough time or enough information. Of course, we will wait for the publication of the Cabinet of Ministers resolution and make a decision to cancel flights, based on the content of the document. We are considering several options, including radical,” CEO of the airline Yevhen Dykhne said.
According to the airline, in the total current UIA passenger traffic, the percentage of foreigners transported is about 60%.
Kyiv authorities have decided to toughen the measures aimed at the prevention of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the capital in line with the government’s instruction, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
“I would like to inform you that, in line with the government’s instruction, the city has approved a decision to toughen the anti-epidemic measures in the capital. In particular, the working hours of restaurants and entertainment facilities (including cinemas) are restricted until 22:00. Mass cultural, entertainment, sports, promotional events also can be held until 22:00,” the mayor said during an online press conference on Wednesday.
As reported, Kyiv registered 101 new COVID-19 cases, including 7 medical workers, in the past 24 hours.
Acting President of National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom Petro Kotin announced an unprecedented restriction of nuclear energy generation on May 27.
“Today, the restrictions imposed on us by the government in electricity generation have fallen to historic lows, namely, to 6.63 GW from 9.49 GW available,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday through the Energy Reform Internet portal.
Kotin is confident that this “is unlikely to contribute to solving the financial issues of the company and the stability of the country’s power market.”
According to the data on the company’s website, on May 27, some 10 out of 15 power units of Ukrainian nuclear plants were in operation.
