Here’s what opens in Ukraine on June 10

Despite detecting daily increases in the number of COVID-19 cases, Ukraine — except Kyiv and 7 oblasts — will enter the fourth stage of rolling back the quarantine measures on June 10.

Starting from June 10, cinemas, recreation facilities, sanatoriums will be able to reopen, and mass cultural events will be allowed again. Indoor restaurants could reopen on June 5 in certain areas.

But the restrictions will only be lifted in those oblasts that match the requirements set by the Health Ministry.

The criteria for oblasts to enter the stage four are the same as for the previous stages: Having less than 12 new cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days, having less than 50% occupancy of hospital beds and having tested more than 12 people per 100,000 members of the regional population over the last seven days. 

As of June 9, seven of the country’s oblasts, including Chernivtsi, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Volyn, Zakarpattia and Zhytomyr, as well as Kyiv, are not ready for full rollback. 

Nonetheless, it is not particularly hard to find restaurants and other businesses that flout the restrictions.

The government eased first measures on May 11-12 and started the second stage of lifting restrictions on May 22. With the second stage, the government introduced what it called “an adaptive quarantine” — meaning the restrictions can be increased or decreased regionally depending on the number of COVID-19 cases.

Since the third stage started on June 1, Ukraine has experienced growth in the number of new COVID-19 cases compared to previous weeks. According to Health Minister Maksym Stepanov, the reason for that is the general population’s “frivolous attitude” toward quarantine recommendations, including social distancing.

As of June 9, the country has detected 27,856 COVID-19 cases. Among them, 810 people have died from the disease and 12,412 patients have recovered.

According to Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko, the country’s top sanitary doctor, if the number of cases continues to rise, quarantine measures can be reimposed across the country, particularly in Kyiv.

However, as for now, Ukraine is continuing to gradually lift restrictions.

Reopening

The fourth stage will allow recreation bases and sanatoriums to reopen under the condition they follow the measures set by the Health Ministry – they haven’t been published yet.

Meanwhile, it’s not clear whether summer camps for children will be allowed to return to operations as well. The government was supposed to consider the idea of reopening camps but, apparently, hasn’t made the decision yet.

Lyashko said on June 2 that during summer in camps and sanatoriums, outbreaks of intestinal infections often occur. That would add workload in hospitals that are treating patients with coronavirus.

“We are assessing this risk and will monitor the dynamics,” Lyashko said. 

Apart from that, the new stage of easing the restrictions will allow cinemas to open their doors.

Cinemas have been hit hard by the quarantine. Unlike restaurants and cafes who at least had a chance to do delivery and takeout and make some revenue, cinemas were stuck with no options.

Starting from June 10, mass cultural events will be allowed as well.

According to the Health Ministry, there should be no more than one person per 5 square meters at events at the same time. The attendants must wear masks, while the event organizers have to do temperature screening at the entrance and let in only those whose temperature is lower than 37.2 degrees Celcius. 

Fan-zones that are usually set at music shows are still banned. In the seating area, the audience must maintain the 1.5-meter distance. No more than four people can sit at the same table if those are used at events.