Starting on Jan. 8, Ukraine enters a 17-day nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The lockdown measures include the closure of restaurants, stores that don’t sell groceries, cinemas, gyms and fitness centers. The measures will last through Jan. 24.
The measures were announced well in advance, allowing Ukrainians to prepare. In early December, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that a strict quarantine would come into force after the winter holidays. Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7.
The measures are set to curb the possible increase of new infections after mass gatherings on New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve. As of Jan. 8, over 1 million people in Ukraine have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic; about 7,000 new cases are reported daily.
The government’s decision to enact restrictions fell in line with a global trend to impose strict lockdowns in January. The United Kingdom, France, Germany and Israel have all imposed additional restrictions after a new more contagious variant of COVID-19 swept the globe in late December.
The quarantine measures are currently the only option for Ukraine to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as a mass vaccination campaign is still a distant dream for the country.
Here’s how quarantine measures change in Ukraine starting on Jan. 8.
Takeout only
The primary change to everyday life is the closure of cafes, bars and restaurants. However, takeout and delivery remain permitted.
The businesses remaining fully operational for customers are groceries, pharmacies, gas stations, hospitals, hotels, banks, postal services, car repair shops and hairdressers.
Stores across Ukraine are permitted to sell food, medicine, alcohol and tobacco, animal feed and fertilizers. According to the statement by the Kyiv City State Administration, the following products must account for over 60% of the store’s merchandise for it to be allowed to operate.
Such flexible regulations, however, allowed major businesses to dodge regulations in the past.
During the March-May lockdown, when most non-essential stores were shut down, Epicenter-K, a home improvement retail chain, remained open after selling medical masks in its stores. The chain is owned by lawmaker Oleksandr Hereha, representing the 24-member For the Future group.
Now business owners can face a $1,300 fine for disobeying quarantine norms, while government officials that do not follow government orders are subjects to a maximum fine of $6,000.
Business shutdown
Apart from eateries, the businesses that can’t operate are cinemas, theaters, art galleries, museums, gyms, fitness centers, swimming pools and shopping malls (except for stores in them selling essential goods — groceries, hygienic and household goods, medicines).
Night clubs, concert venues and all mass events will be banned. Bazaars will also have to shut down.
“We do not want to receive 25,000 (new patients daily),” said Health Minister Maksym Stepanov during a briefing on Jan. 6, explaining the importance of the new lockdown.
“We really need a lockdown from Jan. 8 to 24 in order to curb the ‘wave’ and last until April-May without the introduction of new severe quarantine measures, which could damage our economy,” he said.
The Kyiv City State Administration also recommended all government agencies to transfer work online if possible. State agencies will provide only essential services: Passport and driver’s license offices and utility service centers will keep working but shorter hours.
Such measures were opposed by business owners many of whom took to the streets to protest.
On Dec. 15, anti-lockdown protesters affiliated with the Save Individual Entrepreneurs movement gathered near the parliament building. Protesters demanded to loosen quarantine measures and urged the parliament to increase the support of private entrepreneurs.
As of mid-December, Ukrainians have submitted over 200,000 electronic applications for a government-sponsored modest one-time payment assistance of Hr 8,000 ($283) each — the only assistance issued by the Ukrainian government to help local entrepreneurs stay afloat during the pandemic.
Traveling permitted
The main difference from the nationwide lockdown imposed in March–May is that all the transportation remains fully operational.
Kyiv authorities have reported that the metro, buses, trams and other public transport will work as usual.
In March, after all the metro systems in Ukraine were ordered to shut down, buses, minibuses (known as marshrutkas) and trams were packed during rush-hour.
National railway company Ukrzaliznytsia also stated on Jan. 6 that it would not change its schedule during the January lockdown.
Additionally, airports will continue to work and the borders will stay open for foreigners.
However, Ukrainian citizens are not permitted to enter the European Union without a work permit or a permanent residence status, thus, flights are subject to frequent changes.
Vaccination in Ukraine
The United States, Canada, Israel and the European Union member states have already begun the process of vaccination. Unfortunately, Ukraine is far from starting a mass vaccination program.
In December, Ukraine reached an agreement with the World Health Organization’s COVAX program. The agreement will allow Ukraine to obtain 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by March. However, with each person required two shots, only 4 out of 40 million Ukrainians will receive these vaccines.
The Office of President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Dec. 30 that Ukraine had signed a contract for the country to receive 1.9 million doses of the new Chinese vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech. Ukraine has spent $35 million on the vaccine that hasn’t yet been commissioned for public use, expecting to receive the first 700,000 doses within 30 days after the vaccine’s approval in China or elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Stepanov says Ukraine will need to vaccinate at least 9.9 million people to develop herd immunity.
So far, the government hasn’t announced any other agreement regarding the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
On Jan. 6, representatives of 13 EU member states have signed a letter to the European Commission which urges the Commission to help EU Eastern Partnership countries, including Ukraine, to get access to more COVID-19 vaccines.
