Cabinet plans to approve second phase of quarantine relaxations

Ukraine’s government will approve at the weekly
cabinet meeting on May 20 the second phase of relaxing quarantine restrictions,
Prime Minister Shmyhal told a television talk show on May 18. In particular, it
plans to renew city and suburban public transport as of May 22, as well as
metro rail and nurseries as of May 25. He also mentioned large retailers,
fitness centers hostels being able to operate, without restaurant or pool
service and without mentioning a date. These measures must also being approved
by city councils. Railway transport between cities will be renewed as of June
1, while international air flights could be renewed as early as June 15, he
said.

The fewest number of new coronavirus infections in the
last month, an estimated 260, were recorded on May 18, the Center for Public
Health at the Health Ministry reported this morning. That was an increase of
only 1.4% to a total of 18,876 cases. Thirteen patients died on May 17, raising
the total of 546 fatalities from the COVID-19 disease. An estimated 356
patients recovered from the disease, raising the total to 5,632. No new cases
of coronavirus infections were reported in eight of Ukraine’s 24 regions (and
the Autonomous Republic of Crimea).

Zenon Zawada: While the
statistics are impressive, confirming the situation has stabilized, the last
day’s developments create some risk. With Kyiv’s metro being notorious for its
tightly packed, overcrowded trains, its reopening would eliminate any gains
from social distancing requirements that are being imposed on businesses, as
well as educational and religious institutions (which expect to reopen soon,
though no date has been confirmed).

Indeed reopening metro rail is so risky that we
believe it’s a political move that is aimed at shifting the blame for
quarantine restrictions on local governments, having them make the unpopular
decisions to extend prohibitions. This is part of a new strategy by the
Zelensky administration for the local elections in October in no longer wanting
to play the scapegoat for the negative effects of the quarantine.

It’s also disturbing that the Vinnytsia City Hospital,
which handles the most coronavirus infections in the region, announced on May
18 that its 60 beds designated for COVID-19 patients are all occupied,
prompting a decision to begin redirecting new patients to district hospitals.
This is the first hospital to report such a situation and indicates the latent
risk remains lingering of a second infection eruption.