Restaurants have been closed since mid-March as part of the nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. But now it’s May and restaurants are asking the government to allow them to open up their outdoor terraces, which are popular this time of year.
The quarantine has dealt a heavy blow to Ukraine’s restaurant sector. On May 2, nearly 100 restaurant owners and other protesters came to the office of the president with the demand that they be allowed to open their terraces for business.
The demonstrators brought 20 tables and 40 chairs for the performance, along with antiseptic, plastic cutlery and meals. Even a brief but intense thunderstorm did not scare off the activists, who held signs and served food in protest.
