Today, November 11, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to introduce "weekend quarantine" from November 14. In addition, the government refused to allocate quarantine zones and sent the entire country to the "orange" quarantine zone
Whether it will help or cause more harm, ElitExpert found out.
We rest only at home
The Ministry of Health said that in the best case scenario, Ukraine should introduce an analogue of the spring lockdown for at least three weeks in order to cope with the difficult epidemiological situation. However, the shaky economy does not allow to act in this way. For this reason, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to introduce a "weekend quarantine".
"Ukraine's economy will not withstand a full lockdown, so we are introducing the so-called weekend quarantine," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the beginning of the meeting.
Thus, from 00.00:00.00 on Saturday until XNUMX:XNUMX on Monday, work will be prohibited:
- bars, restaurants and cafes, they work only for takeaway.
— shopping centers and other entertainment establishments.
— all stores, except grocery stores, pharmacies (including veterinary ones) and gas stations. Only those supermarkets where 60% of the area is occupied by products will be able to work.
- fitness centers, swimming pools and gyms.
The quarantine will end on November 30, covering three weekends.
In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a new type of quarantine on weekdays as well. The government refused the adapted quarantine and the rules throughout the country will correspond to the "orange" quarantine zone.
This includes the following measures:
Mass events with the participation of more than 20 people are prohibited. Sports events without spectators. In cinemas and theaters, it is forbidden to fill the halls by more than 50%. In city transport, electric trains, passengers are transported only in seated positions.
Restaurants and cafes must be closed from 22:00 to 07:00, except for take-out. The distance between the tables is at least 2 meters (it used to be 1,5 meters).
Fitness centers and gyms will be able to work only if they ensure the presence of no more than 1 person per 20 square meters.
The business was not consulted
Before the start of the meeting, entrepreneurs rallied outside the Cabinet of Ministers - mainly restaurateurs, whose business this type of quarantine will teach a big lesson. For example, according to representatives of the restaurant business, they will lose 70-80% of their earnings.
The participants of the protest demanded, in particular:
- do not close restaurants, shops and other facilities on the weekend if they comply with safety measures;
- to compensate a part of employees' salaries from the budget, to cancel the lease in case of introduction of "day off quarantine";
- adopt draft laws aimed at protecting a simplified system of taxation, accounting and reporting.
In turn, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal promised
— compensate parts of employees' salaries due to downtime;
— loans, 80% of which will be covered by the state
— available loans under the "5-7-9%" program.
However, it is unlikely that entrepreneurs decide to take out loans during the quarantine period, so only an application for compensation of wages looks plausible. In addition, the head of government did not mention what entrepreneurs should do with rent and taxes, which are the most difficult items of expenditure.
Is there any point in quarantine?
Taking into account the fact that on weekdays the restrictions are not so serious, all the positive qualities of the weekend lockdown are leveled off. As practice has shown, the restrictions of the "orange" quarantine zone could not affect the growth of the number of patients with COVID-19. And if from Monday to Friday people will be infected at the same rate as before, it is unlikely that the "weekend quarantine" will be able to improve the situation.
