The Ukrainian government has adopted new rules for the introduction of “red” quarantine zones in Ukraine.
According to the document published by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on Sept. 21, the “red” level of COVID-19 threat should be established by the joint decision of the state and regional commissions when one or both of the following conditions apply:
- over 75% of beds in health care facilities are occupied for five consecutive days;
- the number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people detected in the region in the past 14 days exceeds the average number of cases in the country more than five times.
Previously, the zones were imposed on the national level, which displeased local authorities. The change comes after several city and regional authorities refused to implement “red zone” restrictions.
Ukraine is currently divided into green, yellow, orange and red zones based upon the severity of the COVID-19 situation.
Red zones must implement the most severe restrictions: Businesses, such as cafes and shopping centers, must close and public transportation must cease operations. Previously, educational institutions were also required to close. However, under the new changes, the central and local authorities will decide whether to close schools together.
However, some have criticized the changes as setting the standards for entering the red zone too high. In a Facebook post, former Deputy Health Minister Pavlo Kovtonyuk wrote that, now, it will be virtually impossible for any region or large city to wind up in the red zone, no matter how bad the COVID-19 situation there gets.
Currently, there are seven oblasts in Ukraine where towns or districts are marked as being in the red zone: Zakarpattia Oblast, Lviv Oblast, Ternopil Oblast, Khmelnytsky Oblast, Cherkasy Oblast, Chernivtsi Oblast and Chernihiv Oblasts.
An interactive map of Ukraine published by the Center for Public Health shows the color categorization of the country’s regions, but without detailed epidemiological data on testing.
New zone divisions
Starting from Sept. 21, Ukraine also redivided its territory into quarantine zones. Following the new rules, joint state and local commissions imposed quarantine restrictions in each town located in the red zone.
In these regions, cafes, restaurants, shopping malls and cinemas are banned and visitors are not allowed in rehabilitation and social care institutions. There should be no more than five people, including the driver, in public transport.
In the city of Chop in Zakarpattia Oblast, the city of Slavutych and Volochyskyi District in Khmelnytsky Oblast, the city of Kaniv in Cherkasy Oblast and Hertsaivskyi and Kelmenetskyi districts in Chernivtsi Oblast, schools were closed.
Kyiv remains in the orange zone, with schools, businesses, and public transport still operating. Masks are required inside public establishments and transport, but not outdoors.
Read also: Kyiv to enter ‘orange’ quarantine zone: What does it mean?
The color-coded zones came into force at the beginning of August.
The levels are based on three indicators that are reviewed every five days, including hospital bed occupancy, the number of polymerase chain reaction tests conducted in the region and the number of cases per 100,000 members of the population.
