Ukraine may need total lockdown as COVID wave rolls

Ukraine hit new records for the coronavirus pandemic
on March 24. The Health Ministry posted on Facebook that 16,660 new cases of
COVID-19 were registered and 362 people died. Both measures exceed the worst numbers
of the previous peak in late November.

There is a chance that Ukraine will need a lockdown
despite the quarantine in place, says Serhiy Komissarenko of Ukraine’s National
Academy of Sciences. Online media unian.info quoted Komissarenko on March 24 as
saying that the peak of morbidity for the current wave will come “no earlier
than a month, maybe even later”. He also called for a clear government position
on the matter.

National Security and Defense Council Secretary
Oleksyi Danilov agreed with Komissarenko’s position. In an interview with BBC’s
Ukrainian Service, Danilov stated that a lockdown was an extreme measure, but
that if the situation did not look more optimistic, it might be required.

Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko urged Kyivans to not overcrowd
public transportation during the quarantine. Online media pravda.com.ua reports
that in an online meeting on March 24, the mayor declared that if the current
measures are not observed, a total lockdown would be in the offing.

James Hydzik: Ukraine is
not the only place in Europe where quarantine fatigue is setting in. However,
it is in a unique position in that public reluctance to vaccinate is high, the
vaccine supply and roll-out is retarded, and the latest wave is still not
peaking.

Like the German government, which backtracked on plans
for a total lockdown over its Easter holiday, the Ukrainian government has made
missteps lately, with masking rules needing clarification by the Health
Ministry after an announcement that masks were needed in parks and on streets
at all times. This bump was handled quickly. However, the limitations of the
government’s information reach are showing on crowded buses and, later, in
crowded hospitals.