Severe lockdown would stop the economy, president says

A severe quarantine/lockdown will be imposed in
Ukraine only if the daily infection rate of the COVID-19 disease reaches 9,500,
President Zelensky told a meeting of religious leaders on Oct. 19. “But then
the economy of our country will stop and it will be very difficult for
everyone,” he said, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site. He asked the
leaders to maximally reduce ñrowds of people and increase social distancing,
encouraging worship services online. “We can reduce the number of infected and
deceased if we reduce the presence of citizens, particularly elderly ones, in
places of mass crowds of people. It’s not only about churches, but any places
and events,” the president said.

Hospitals in the Ukrainian-controlled Luhansk region
have reached full occupancy of its beds designated for COVID patients, reported
the Coronavirus in the Regions Telegram channel on Oct. 19. Odesa region
hospitals have 90% occupancy of COVID patients, while Sumy region hospitals
have 88% occupancy. The average occupancy rate nationally for COVID-19 patients
is 65.7%, the channel reported. In addition, many photos and videos are
circulating in Ukrainian online social networks of sick patient lying in the
corridors of Kyiv hospitals, as well as lines of patients lying in ambulance
stretchers. Yet the health department of the Kyiv City Administration said no
one is lying in the corridors of city hospitals, reported the
life.pravda.com.ua news site.

About 100 residents of the town of Smila (population
67,500) in the Cherkasy region organized a protest on Oct. 19 against the
government’s decision to include the region in its red zone of quarantine
requirements. In particular, they opposed the closure of children’s nurseries
and restrictions on entrepreneurs. An estimated 99 new cases of the COVID
disease were reported there in Oct. 16-18.

New infections of the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus
reached 5,469 nationally on Oct. 19, as reported by the Health Ministry this
morning. That’s compared to 4,766 on Oct. 18 and 5,231 on Oct. 17. An estimated
113 people died from the disease, compared to 66 on Oct. 18 and 90 on Oct. 17.
An estimated 173,788 citizens are currently infected.

Zenon Zawada: It’s a
relief to hear Zelensky confirm that he understands the return of a severe
lockdown will be devastating for the Ukrainian economy. The example of
yesterday’s town protest shows how even moderate restrictions on activity are
painful for citizens. Nonetheless, we can’t rule out the possibility of a
severe lockdown being imposed in the coming months, with experts expecting the daily infection rate to worsen.