The Ukrainian government intends to maintain quarantine in the country until the end of April, with the possibility of further extension, said Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal at a meeting with representatives of the European Business Association of Ukraine. A video recording of his speech was posted on YouTube.
“We will continue quarantine until April 30. This is most likely not the end date when the quarantine will be completed, ”Shmygal said. According to him, quarantine restrictions to one degree or another can be extended after the specified period, depending on the epidemiological situation.
Shmyhal also noted that half of the Ukrainian population does not want to be vaccinated. In his opinion, this is not only a question of human psychology, but also the effectiveness of vaccines.
A strict quarantine has been in effect in Ukraine since January 8 to limit the mobility of citizens and reduce the burden on medical facilities.
The government decided to ease restrictions on January 24. Shopping centers, catering establishments, non-food stores, cinemas and fitness centers reopened.
At the end of December 2020, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine signed an agreement on the supply of 2 million doses of Sinovac Biotech, a Chinese vaccine against coronavirus. In addition, 117,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines will be delivered to Ukraine in February as part of the COVAX program designed to supply vaccines to poor countries.
On January 29, the country's parliament also adopted a law on a simplified procedure for registering foreign vaccines against coronavirus. It prohibits the use of a drug that was developed by a recognized “aggressor” state. In 2015, Ukraine officially granted this status to Russia.
According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, as of February 4, 5,082 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in the country, in total 1.2 million people have faced the infection since the beginning of the epidemic, 23, 2 thousand people have died. More than 1 million cases have recovered. 153.6 thousand people continue to fight the disease.
