- May 26, 2020
- Posted by: Shobhit Jayaswal
- Categories: MBBS in abroad, MBBS in Ukraine
Ukraine will extend its COVID-19 quarantine measures to June 22 but start lifting more severe restrictions this week. The opening of some public places including beaches and parks, as well as barbershops, hairdressers, beauty salons and outdoor dining areas, have already seen a degree of normality return to life in the capital Kyiv and elsewhere, but public transport has remained closed for weeks.
More restrictions will be lifted on May 22 that allows for the opening of kindergartens, gyms and hotels, but fears of a possible second wave of coronavirus infections have prompted the Ukrainian government and others elsewhere to keep an “adaptive lockdown” in effect to June 22 while it carries on monitoring the epidemic in Ukraine.
The government opened 66 border checkpoints with the EU on May 20, closed since March due to coronavirus. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine said the country had resumed the work of these crossing points at multiple border areas with the European Union and Moldova. At the same time, according to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, checkpoints on the border with Russia and Belarus remain closed in light of the epidemiological situation there.
Public transport will also be gradually restored to Ukrainians from May 22, infrastructure minister Vladyslav Kryklii said in a statement. Urban and suburban bus routes, including marshrutka taxi buses, will be up-and-running again from May 22, while the underground metro system will tentatively reopen on May 25 but could be closed again if needed.
From June 1 the national Ukrainian railway will begin serving customers again and some restrictions on travel between regions with personal vehicles will be lifted, Kryklii said, adding that vehicles must be no more than 50% full and drivers may still face restrictions driving to regions with a high rate of infection.
Ministers have said they will continue to monitor the coronavirus epidemic, as health experts confirmed 354 new cases of confirmed infection on May 20, bringing the total number of cases in Ukraine to at least 19,230 and the national death toll to 564. The reopening of subways and other public transport is an area of heated debate and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Smyhal said on May 18 that they will only reopen public transport as the “epidemiological situation allows.”
Air travel restrictions will start being lifted from June 15 and a number of airlines (Swiss, Wizz, Lufthansa) have already announced their intention to start their Ukrainian routes for the summer. But passengers and workers should expect extra security and measures at airports and on planes, Kryklii said, noting that temperature screenings and disinfections would be taking place, while the 14-day self-isolation for travellers (with the usage of a monitoring app for smartphones) won’t be lifted before June 22.
Source and all credits to – The Kyiv Post
