Kyiv to declare an emergency due to COVID-19 threat

The Kyiv City State Administration is planning to declare an emergency in the Ukrainian capital over the spread of the novel coronavirus, Mykola Povoroznyk, deputy head of the Kyiv administration, said in an interview with the RBK-Ukraine news site.

According to Povoroznyk, the authorities made the decision on March 18. It will have to be approved by the government.

However, Povoroznyk said that the state emergency commission announced an emergency across the country on March 10, so the Kyiv authorities’ move formalizes the restrictions that are already in force in the Ukrainian capital.

“All emergency measures are already being implemented in Kyiv,” Povoroznyk said in the interview.

The official’s press secretary confirmed the information to the Kyiv Post.

Ukraine has 26 confirmed cases of coronavirus and three deaths from the disease. That number, however, is expected to grow, as, on March 19 alone, 56 suspected cases were submitted to the Center for Public Health.

The Ukrainian capital currently has three confirmed cases, while Kyiv Oblast has two.

The coronavirus has infected over 252,000 people and killed 10,400 globally.

Since the infection started spreading throughout Ukraine, three oblasts — Chernivtsi, Zhytomyr and Kyiv — have declared an emergency.

According to the Civil Protection Code, an emergency is a situation caused by an epidemic, natural disaster or catastrophe, which poses a threat to the health or lives of the public.

When an emergency is declared in a city or oblast, the local authorities establish an emergency liquidation headquarters and commission.

The two bodies have to gather data and monitor the situation, draw out an action plan and get emergency services ready.

An emergency should not be confused with a state of emergency, which is declared by the president and approved by the parliament when there is a nationwide threat. A state of emergency allows the authorities to temporarily limit the public’s constitutional rights.