Ukraine’s next lockdown is most likely in January

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers is expected to announce
a new quarantine period extending from Jan. 8-24, online media pravda.com.ua
reports, citing the Prime Minister and a source within the government. At the
same time, unian.info reports that the quarantine would start from Jan. 1. Both
outlets point to a statement by Health Minister Maksym Stepanov on Dec.8 that
the Cabinet would make a decision on Dec. 9 regarding the next quarantine.
Stepanov also stated that the quarantine dates should be adjusted with the
start of the influenza season (late January or early February) in mind.

On Dec. 8, over 12,585 new coronavirus cases were
registered in Ukraine. Children and medical workers accounted for approximately
5% each of the new cases, the Health Ministry reports.

James Hydzik: The choice of dates for the shortest quarantine possible at this point
needs to take in not only physical health and the economy, but also the mental
health of the populace in a holiday season. Starting a short quarantine too
early would leave cases rising again once the period has ended. Too late, and
more people die. An extended lockdown on a population protesting even weekend
quarantines would require marketing skills the government has not yet shown.