Over 100 Ukrainian nationals were stuck at the border between Italy and Slovenia on March 14, after Slovenian border guards refused them entry from Italy amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
Border guards in Slovenia reportedly stopped them at the border to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has been sweeping across Europe and has struck Italy especially hard.
In response, the government has said that the 101 stranded Ukrainian nationals will be brought home on a chartered plane on Saturday or Sunday, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said that they would be taken to Ukraine on a flight at President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request.
“It was decided that we will take them by a special board of one of the Ukrainian airliners that will fly to Italy,” Tymoshenko said.
The take off airport is yet to be determined, but Tymoshenko said that the government is in touch with the stranded Ukrainians.
On March 13, Ukraine’s state-owned railway carrier Ukrzaliznytsia said it had suspended train connections with Slovakia, which has declared a state of emergency over the spread of the disease. Tickets can be refunded at all Ukrzaliznytsia’s cash desks, the rail operator said.
Some international and domestic trains continue to run on schedule for now. When crossing the border with Ukraine, all passengers undergo temperature screening.
Ukraine is to stop rail passenger communication with Poland starting March 15, the press service of Ukrzaliznytsia reported on Facebook.
Last trains from Poland will leave for Ukraine on March 14, and the last trains from Ukraine to Poland departed on the morning of March 14 of the same day. Ticket sales for these trains are suspended.
The latest developments come a day after President Volodymyr Zelesnky addressed the nation on March 13 amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In his speech, Zelensky said that Ukraine is shutting down its borders from March 17, urging Ukrainians to return home.
Ukraine will also cancel all passenger flights after March 16 in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19, according to Parliament Speaker Dmytro Razumkov.
In his speech the president mentioned that foreign diplomats, members of international organizations and employees of freight companies will be permitted to enter Ukraine even after the shutdown. “Those who enter Ukraine will undergo screening” said Zelensky. So will Ukrainians returning home, he said.
The coronavirus pandemic has already claimed 5,443 lives globally, with nearly 147,000 confirmed cases, according to the latest official data, which also reports that 72,500 patients have recovered from the illness. Ukraine has three confirmed cases.
CORONAVIRUS IN UKRAINE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- There have been five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine. The first case was identified in Ukraine on March 3.
- One person died from the COVID-19 in Ukraine.
- Ukraine shut schools and canceled mass events starting March 12 to prevent the disease’s spread. Some schools resisted.
- Here’s how Kyiv is affected.
- Doctor’s advice: How to stay safe.
- Ukrainians evacuated from the disease’s epicenter in Wuhan, China spent two weeks in quarantine in a sanatorium in Poltava Oblast and were released on March 5. Their arrival in Ukraine caused unrest.
Effects on economy:
- Here’s what the virus is doing to Ukraine’s economy.
- Ukrainian businesses respond to the crisis.
- The virus disrupts the transport sector. Ukrainian airlines canceled some flights to 16 countries due to the novel coronavirus.
The National Bank of Ukraine continued to cut the policy rate while trying to buffer the hryvnia from coronavirus panic.
