If employees of a company in Kyiv are discovered to have contracted COVID-19, all of the company’s workers will be placed in quarantine, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced during an online briefing on April 10.
“We need to protect people so that they won’t catch this infection,” Klitschko said. “We are doing everything for that.”
The mayor didn’t state how many people must be infected with the virus for everybody at an enterprise to be put in quarantine. Klitschko also didn’t specify which enterprises he was referring to. At the moment, only critical companies are still allowed to continue operating — banks, pharmacies, supermarkets, as well as heavy and light industry.
In order to further control quarantine measures in the capital, Klitschko also said that more police officers will patrol the city. People must not visit parks or other public places. Those who violate the quarantine restrictions can be fined from $630 to $1,890 or face up to three years in prison.
“Do not ignore the rules and don’t go where you can be fined,” said Klitschko. “Take care of yourself and your loved ones.”
In addition, the Kyiv mayor said that church leaders had agreed to postpone remembrance week in the capital, which is traditionally held the next week after Orthodox Easter, one of the most important religious holidays for many believers in Ukraine. During that week — which is supposed to be on April 20–26 in 2020 — people usually go to the cemeteries to pay a tribute to their dead relatives.
“Today it is very important to celebrate the Easter holidays without shocks and without a surge of the disease. It is very important,” Klitschko said.
To help Kyivans live through the quarantine and decrease the high level of psychological stress it causes, Klitschko advised visiting an online platform for emotional support launched by the Kyiv City Council two days ago, on April 8. According to Klitschko, over 10,000 Kyiv residents have already used the service.
“It’s a free resource for Kyivans, where everyone can get a psychological consultation,” he said
As of April 10, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Kyiv reached 348, the second largest number in Ukraine after Chernivtsi Oblast. In the last 24 hours, Kyiv added 13 people to its COVID-19 infection statistics. Two of the recently infected were medical workers.
Ukraine imposed a nationwide quarantine on March 12 and has intensified the measures since then. The quarantine is scheduled to last across Ukraine until at least April 24.
