Ukraine to consider national state of emergency on Mar. 24, report says

A national state of emergency may be introduced by the
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine during its Mar. 24 meeting,
reported the pravda.com.ua news site on Mar. 22, citing an anonymous source in
the President’s Office. So far, seven regions (oblasts) of Ukraine and the city
of Kyiv have declared a “situation of emergency.” The mayor of Chernivtsi,
whose region has been among the most severely affected, requested on Mar. 21
that a state of emergency be imposed for his region. Recall, Ukrainian
President Zelensky said on Mar. 16 that he is ready to impose a state of
emergency if it’s necessary.

Health Minister Illia Yemets called for the
introduction of martial law in Ukraine owing to the coronavirus pandemic during
a television interview on Mar. 22. “I spoke about this from the first day of my
work in the government. This should have been done from the very start. If this
could have been done, then the spreading, which is geometrically developing,
would not be occurring,” said Yemets, who was appointed on Mar. 4. Meanwhile,
the city of Kyiv has restricted the use of mass transit to select workers who
are strategic in dealing the crisis as of today. The cabinet is currently in
talks with European partners to develop a plan of support for small and
medium-sized businesses affected by the crisis, as well as those citizens who
lose work, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a Mar. 22 televised address.

As of noon, Mar. 23 three people have died in Ukraine
from the COVID-19 disease, while 73 have been infected, as reported by the
Center for Public Health of the Health Ministry of Ukraine. Of the 26 new
infections reported on Mar. 22, 20 occurred in the capital city of Kyiv. A
third Ukrainian citizen was reported to have died in Italy on Mar. 20.

Zenon Zawada: As
expected, infections are accelerating. In our view, it’s likely that the gains
from introducing a national state of emergency will eventually outweigh the
negatives. So we believe a national state of emergency is likely to be
declared, with no threat posed to the IMF loan program being pursued.