Page 6 - UKRRptMay20

2.0​ ​Politics
2.1​ ​First phase of economic reboot planned for early May
The Ukrainian government is trying to maintain a balance between quarantine measures and supporting the economy​, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a video announcement published on his Telegram channel on April 3. The relaxation of quarantine measures will occur in phases, he said, the first of, which will involve working-age people returning to their employment and certain mass transit being renewed. “This will enable beginning the economic reboot already at the start of May,” he said. This doesn’t mean the weakening of other quarantine measures, he said, mentioning ongoing restrictions on outdoor activity and the requirement of wearing masks outdoors, particularly for children and seniors.
Stricter quarantine restrictions were introduced on April 6 in Ukraine, which include the requirements of wearing a mask in public, carrying an identification document and not being outside with more than one person, the Cabinet of Ministers announced on its website on April 3. Groups of people are allowing for state service or accompanying children, he said. Visiting all public parks and recreation areas is also forbidden, he said. Even stricter measures are under consideration, said on April 5 Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, including forbidding the use of private transport in the capital. As of April 4, the Kyiv City Administration required the taking of temperatures of all drivers and passengers entering the capital, and even in stores where food is sold.
The peak of coronavirus infection in Ukraine is likely to begin Tuesday, April 14 with the current quarantine restrictions, Chief Medical Office of Ukraine Viktor Liashko told an April 4 press briefing. “This can lead to a large admission of seriously ill to healthcare facilities and a large number of negative consequences, including lethal ones,” he said. Besides having imported thousands of PCR tests from China and South Korea, Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturers are producing between 2,000 and 7,000 tests daily, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the secretary of the Coordination Council to Combat the Spread of COVID-19, told a television talk show on April 3. State healthcare bodies will give the domestically produced tests, which are foolproof, priority in procurement, he said.
As of noon, April 6, 38 people have died of the COVID-19 disease. An estimated 1,319 patients have been infected in Ukraine, according to the Center for Public Health at the Health Ministry. An estimated 15 Ukrainians have recovered from COVID-19 while abroad, while five have perished, the Foreign Ministry reported on April 6 on its Telegram channel. Nearly 11,000 Ukrainian citizens returned from being abroad on April 4, the State Border Service reported the next day.
The government seems to have a decent grip on the coronavirus so far, particularly in planning for May to be the first phase of relaxing restrictions. The leaders seem to share our realization that severe restrictions beyond the traditional “May holidays” will be highly resented by a population that wants to work and earn income, whether in Ukraine or abroad. Some degree of foreign travel will have to be restored by the end of May as well.
6​ UKRAINE Country Report​ May 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com