Starting on Oct. 26, 40 more Ukrainian cities and regions will enter the strictest “red” quarantine zone, including oblast centers like Ivano-Frankivsk, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi and Chernihiv, the government said on Oct. 23.
In total, 108 cities will now be in the red zone.
In the past month, the number of new daily confirmed COVID-19 infections has increased sharply. Ukraine registered 7,517 new COVID-19 cases on Oct. 23 and the number of total deaths has surpassed 6,000.
The new quarantine restrictions come into force on Oct. 26 for a period of 14 days. At the end of the term, the list of cities in quarantine zones will be reviewed and adjusted.
Boryspil, Vasylkiv and Obukhiv in Kyiv Oblast are also in the “red zone.” Now, according to the Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution, regions where there are more than 320 active cases per 100,000 members of the population within 14 days will enter the red zone.
Kyiv remains in the “orange” quarantine zone due to the growing COVID-19 infection rate, as do Vinnytsia, Lutsk, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Uzhhorod, Lviv, Odesa, Cherkasy and Kherson.
The restrictions by zone are:
Red zone: Holding mass events is forbidden.
Orange zone: Up to 20 people may attend mass events.
Yellow zone: The maximum number of participants in a mass event is 30 people.
Green zone: No more than 50 people may attend a mass event.
In the “green,” “yellow” and “orange” zones, participants in mass events must be at least 1.5 meters apart. Additionally, the work of cafes and restaurants in these zones will be banned from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (except for takeout and delivery).
Additionally, events such as sports matches will be canceled. An exception will be made for international events and those permitted by a decision of the Ministry of Health.
The Cabinet of Ministers has extended the country’s quarantine restrictions until Dec. 31 due to an upsurge of new coronavirus cases.
