It is the hardest shutdown since the spring of 2020, but it is necessary to get the virus under control, says the mayor of Kyiv.
There are around 1,000 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv each day, and 85 percent of hospital beds are occupied, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, briefs the media Segodnya. To stop the spread, Klitschko has decided to tighten the current quarantine in Kyiv from Monday, where almost all public transportation will close.
It will be the toughest shutdown since spring 2020. The Metro, buses, and trams will only carry workers with special passes, and schools and kindergartens will close. The new rules will make it very hard to get around in Kyiv without your own car or by taxi.
“We have lines of ambulances in front of hospitals. We have no choice. Otherwise, there will be hundreds of deaths every day,” says Klitschko.
Furthermore, employers are asked to have as many people working from home as possible to stop the spread of Covid-19. Kyiv is one of 11 regions in Ukraine currently in the red zone because of the high spread of Covid-19. It is unclear whether other regions will follow Kyiv and tighten the quarantine in the next few days.
Parliament will consider a curfew
Ukrainian health minister Maksym Stepanov previously said Ukraine will experience a surge in Covid-19 cases over the next few weeks. It will happen despite the recent steps taking in red zones in Ukraine because it takes several days after exposure to feel sick.
“The situation remains quite tense. We predict a surge in the number of patients and, as a result, the number of hospitalizations within at least the next week or two,” he said.
According to Segodnya, the Ukrainian parliament will discuss the situation in Kyiv soon and are considering imposing a curfew after 22:00 until the morning. Segodnya writes that “the likelihood of such a decision as high,” citing a source in the parliament.
“By the end of the year, we must vaccinate at least 60% of adults aged 18 and over… If the required amount of vaccine is available, we can vaccinate up to 5 million people per month easily,” said Stepanov recently, according to Ukrinform.
