In several Ukrainian regions, authorities have taken additional measures to keep people at home on Easter holidays celebrated this year on April 18-20.
Ukraine has 5,601 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the outbreak in early March. This number includes 133 deaths and 275 recoveries as of April 18.
The officials have warned that mass gatherings over Easter holidays might lead to a new wave of infections.
The nationwide quarantine imposed on March 12 bans all religious and public gatherings of more than 10 people.
However, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate announced that its churches will be open and all services will take place, including sanctifying Easter meals and the Holy Fire ceremony. The church said it has taken steps to protect worshippers who decide to attend.
In contrast, two other churches of Eastern rite, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, have urged their followers to stay home and watch televised services or order home delivery of pre-sanctified Easter pastry and colored eggs.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine also postponed the Hrobky, a tradition to visit the graves of deceased family members one week after Easter, until June 6.
Extra measures
Some authorities decided to take precautions. A week earlier, on Palm Sunday, hundreds of people around the country went to churches anyway.
A number of regions have limited access to cemeteries starting from April 20 until May 3, except for funeral ceremonies, to prevent mass gathering to commemorate the dead.
In Kyiv, the police will patrol 179 churches and monasteries to enforce social distancing among worshippers. The city council also set up checkpoints where all drivers and passengers entering the capital undergo body temperature checks.
In Dnipro, residents won’t be able to use public or personal transport without a special permit in the next three days. Those who have to work during holidays must carry a document that specifies their working hours.
In addition, the authorities dug a large ditch in front of the local church of Moscow Patriarchate claiming that they found a World War II-era missile that needed to be removed.
Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov, who previously ordered digging 600 graves for COVID-19 patients, didn’t mince words threatening priests who will hold services publicly on Easter Day with retribution in the form of fines, criminal cases, electricity and water cutoffs.
“Even God won’t protect you,” Filatov wrote on Facebook on April 14.
Zaporizhia Oblast authorities have placed four cities, Zaporizhia, Melitopol, Energodar, and Berdyansk, under three-day lockdown. It’s impossible to enter or exit those cities without special permits, except for ambulances and essential workers.
“Shop in advance and celebrate Easter at home,” governor Vitaly Turynok said at a briefing on April 15.
In Zhytomyr, officials halted trams and trolleybuses, the only public transport running during quarantine, and banned citizens from going to church.
In Vinnytsia Oblast, it is prohibited to visit parks and forests during Easter holidays.
Sumy Oblast authorities banned residents to be in public places starting from 1 p.m. on April 18 until 6 a.m. on April 21.
High risks
Speaking on a TV show on April 17, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Easter holidays, celebrated this year on April 19-20 might turn into a disaster if people defy social distancing measures and flock to churches.
“There’s no other way than to celebrate Easter at home this year,” he said. “Since it might turn into a disaster.”
Up to 10% of Ukraine’s roughly 38-million population may contract coronavirus disease, which will inevitably overwhelm hospitals and demand Itay-like triage, or choosing patients who should receive lifesaving care first, Zelensky said.
Currently, the optimistic forecast is the country’s healthcare system can handle it if 2% of the population become sick over the course of the outbreak.
Hotspot
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate has given its adherents a choice. It’s fine not to come to church on Easter Day, people may watch the broadcast at home and sanctify their Easter meals themselves.
But churches will be open and services will take place for those who decide to attend in person, despite multiple warnings from health officials and Ukrainian leadership that it might be risky.
Moreover, Metropolitan Antoniy announced another perk: the Holy Fire will be brought to a Kyiv church located near Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
Antoniy assured that social distancing rules during Easter services will be kept: People will be allowed inside in small groups, and priests have assigned time slots for meal blessing in order to avoid crowds, he said on TV on April 17.
Earlier, Metropolitan Onufriy said that worshippers who come to pray will be provided with masks.
The church recently received 850,000 masks donated by lawmaker Vadym Novynskyi, who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 15, on the next day after he delivered them to Onufriy. In a video shared by his press service, Novynskyi is without a mask and gloves.
The main site of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate, the 11-century monastery of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, has been quarantined after it became a hotspot of the coronavirus disease. The total number of infected with COVID-19 among the clergy reached 103. One of them is Metropolitan Pavlo in charge of the ancient monastery. Two priests died.
The religious school belonging to Kyiv Pechersk Lavra has 19 infected, including its rector, Bishop Silvester, and 18 students.
Another site of the Moscow-led church in Kyiv, Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas, has been quarantined too.
