Ukraine quarantine may last until late May, Avakov says

Ukraine’s quarantine may be extended until the second
half of May, said Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov on Mar. 31, as
reported by the pravda.com.ua news site. When speaking to a journalist on Mar.
28, Avakov said Ukraine “will have to be in a state of quarantine for a minimum
of two months, as with all of Europe.” When asked whether that was two months
since the quarantine was imposed on Mar. 12, Avakov responded, “Until the
second half of May, I guess.” The current quarantine has been extended until
Apr. 24. Decisions on the quarantine are reached by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Health Ministry announced on Mar. 31 it is
allowing food markets to reopen during the quarantine, but with severe
restrictions, according to a resolution signed on Mar. 30 by Viktor Liashko,
the chief medical officer of Ukraine. Markets can only involve the sale of food
products, allow only one visitor per 20 sq. m., enforce a distance of 1.5
meters between visitors and 3.0 meters between vendor stands, and require masks
of everyone present.

As of noon, Apr. 1, 17 people have died in Ukraine of
the COVID-19 disease, according to the Center for Public Health of the Health
Ministry. An estimated 669 patients have been infected, an increase of 22%, or
121 cases, from the prior day. Ten patients have recovered from the infection.

Zenon Zawada: The middle
of May is about the latest the severe quarantine can last without political
consequences for the government, in our view. If the government is going to
restrict severely the activity of its citizens, it needs to have earned its
trust that it is capable of doing everything possible to return living
conditions back to normal. This trust is lacking, to a large extent. The
government also needs to provide some income to compensate for lost wages,
which it is incapable of doing.

The decision to reopen food markets, most of which
are open air, is a reasonable start to the inevitable easing of restrictions.
Not only do the vendors need income, but average citizens, particularly in
rural areas, need access to vital food products. We can expect further gradual
relaxation of restrictions, so long as strict precautions are upheld, in order
to make life somewhat livable for the public. Again, the political consequences
will be drastic otherwise.