Yesterday, November 26, both ministers and people's deputies talked about introducing a total quarantine in Ukraine. The impression was created that people are preparing for a lockdown.
Whether it is or not, ElitExpert found out.
The day is announced
The head of the government, Denys Shmygal, during the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on November 25, said that a lockdown may be announced in Ukraine during the New Year holidays. This will happen in the event of a worsening of the situation with the incidence of the coronavirus. Nevertheless, the Cabinet of Ministers does not intend to introduce strict restrictions.
"There is no talk of introducing tougher measures now. But we understand that the end of December and the beginning of January is the period of the New Year holidays. These are meetings, fairs, close contacts between people. And all this can give a significant impetus to the outbreak of the disease, which the medical system may not be able to withstand. The government does not hide and says openly that we are developing a response plan in case the situation worsens. Because our steps must be understandable and predictable for people and business," Shmyhal said.
In turn, Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov decided to join the topic, who believes that in Ukraine it is necessary to immediately introduce a strict quarantine with a stoppage of transport for several weeks.
"My point of view is that a lockdown should be introduced as quickly as possible, lasting 3 or 4 weeks. There is no need to hide behind political formulations, since we are talking about big risks for people's health. I hope that this will happen in the next few days," Avakov said.
People's Deputy Nikolay Tyshchenko noted calls for stricter restrictions — he demanded that public transport be stopped on weekends.
"If we want to improve the situation, it is necessary to close not only the entertainment sphere and the sphere of services during the weekend quarantine. The main thing is to limit the work of public transport on weekends," Tyshchenko noted.
Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said that the introduction of the lockdown will reduce the incidence of COVID-19 to zero
"We focus on one thing - the ability of the medical system to provide medical care. Today, 50% of beds in hospitals across the country are filled. In some regions, more than 60% — Chernihiv region, etc. But at the same time, the president is introducing a lockdown tomorrow, because the medical system will not last, we don't have it now," the head of the Ministry of Health emphasized.
And what do Zelensky think? Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kirill Tymoshenko noted that in a week it will become clear whether a lockdown is necessary or not.
"We are trying to reduce the growth rate in order to stabilize the situation. And during this time, they will increase the number of beds and beds with oxygen and other equipment. A lockdown is possible, we will understand after we pass the third weekend of quarantine, and we will make a decision," said Kirill Tymoshenko.
When to expect a lockdown?
All of the above statements indicate that Ukrainians are being informationally prepared for quarantine. But when to expect it? The government is inclined to make the quarantine cover all Christmas and New Year holidays.
If, let's say, the Cabinet of Ministers decides to introduce extreme measures in a month and cover all holidays, quarantine will probably be introduced from the middle of December - approximately from the 14th. However, it is possible even earlier: that everything will become clear next week, they say not only in the President's Office, but also in the Ministry of Health.
Service area end
Calculations show that losses cannot be avoided. According to the Poster company, only on November 14-15 (the first weekend when the weekend quarantine was in effect), Ukrainian public catering establishments lost about 27% of their turnover. In total, since the introduction of restrictions in March of this year, restaurant turnover has fallen by 81% compared to pre-quarantine indicators, the company notes.
The lockdown will have an extremely negative effect on business, but postponing it to Christmas is even worse, since it is a traditional weekend and many people prefer to spend time in various establishments.
Spring deja vu
If we take into account that the authorities will take similar measures as in the spring, then the list of restrictions may include:
- ban on air, rail and bus interregional passenger transportation;
- travel in city public transport only on special passes, closure of subways;
- ban on visiting parks and recreation areas;
- impossibility of meeting in groups, cancellation of any mass meetings;
- transfer of the entire sphere of education to remote mode, closing of kindergartens;
- closures for most visited administrative, state and municipal institutions;
- suspension of activities of enterprises in the field of food (except take-out and delivery), service, culture, etc.;
- termination of sports competitions.
