The Ukrainian government has decided to take this extra step as Ukraine enters a difficult period with many infected people.
The Ukrainian government has decided that people walking outside in red zones in outdoor locations such as on streets and in parks will need to wear a mask at all times. The new law will be applied in all kinds of parks, historical sites, squares, boulevards, streets, roads, beaches, and cemeteries, according to Unian.
Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Sumy, and Chernivtsi region are in the red zone, and you are, therefore, required to wear a mask outside in these regions. The government has divided Ukraine into red, orange, and green zones depending on the region’s number of cases. Different restrictions are required based on this classification, and more and more areas are recently turning red.
Ukraine is experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases, where 11,476 new cases were reported yesterday and 333 further deaths. 30,431 have now died from Covid-19 officially in Ukraine, and 2,519 were hospitalized yesterday due to Covid, writes Ukrinform.
Minister: Ukraine is facing a difficult period
The Ukrainian health minister Maksym Stepanov has said that the new rule is necessary to stop the virus’s spread, and he says that the situation is challenging. The number of daily cases is significantly increasing every week, he says.
“The situation with the spread of Covid-19 in Ukraine is getting worse. We will face a very difficult period. Today we have set another high in terms of fatalities: for the first time, the figure crossed 300 in the country, this is how many people died from COVID-19 in the past day,” the minister told at an online briefing, according to Unian.
“The week before last, we recorded 60,748 cases, while last week we already got 86,708. You see, there are almost 26,000 more cases. And this is just in a week alone,” Stepanov said, adding, “As of Monday morning (March 22), there were 36,600 people in our hospitals with COVID-19 or with suspicion – all these people need treatment in a hospital… At the same time, we have significantly increased the number of tests run – from 395,000 the week before last to over 531,000 PCR and antigen tests.”
New travel rules
To stop the spread of the virus, the Ukrainian government has also applied new rules for travelers. Anyone who wants to enter Ukraine needs to show a negative PCR-test not older than 48 hours, no matter where they come from.
Previously, travelers from countries on the government’s green list did not need to show a negative test, but that rule now applies to all travelers. There are only a few exceptions, such as for kids under 12 years old and airline crew.
“Changes have been made regarding border crossing. After the resolution entered into force – no matter which country citizens arrive from, everyone will have to provide a negative result of a PCR test run within 48 hours prior,” Stepanov explained, according to Unian.
