Ukraine will extend its COVID-19 quarantine restrictions until at least the end of August, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine indicated in a decree it issued on July 22.
Although the government still has one day to amend some parts of the decree, officials have already stated that, as long as the quarantine lasts, Ukraine will now be divided into four epidemiological zones, depending on the COVID-19 situation across the country’s oblasts.
This classification is the only new thing that will appear after the decree comes into force on August 1, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during the July 22 Cabinet of Ministers meeting.
The zones will be green, yellow, orange and — the worst one — red.
In the green zone, people will be allowed to go to cinemas or theatres with 50% occupancy; can use transport like buses, but only if they are seated; and will have to wear medical masks when in public places.
Green-zone oblasts will also be allowed to open summer camps and health care facilities like sanatoria.
To decide what zone a region is in, the Ministry of Health will use a computer program that will calculate and automatically assign the color of the zone to oblasts.
The program will take into account the same criteria as the government uses today, including the occupancy rate of hospitals, the number of polymerase chain reaction tests for COVID-19 conducted, and the number of COVID-19 patients per 100,000 people.
For example, if the situation worsens or improves for five consecutive days, the program will react and change the zone.
Ukraine’s current quarantine rules end on July 31.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that the “adaptive” quarantine is yielding positive results and it allows the government to control the rate of the infection in Ukraine.
“Work at the level of individual regions has proven to be effective, so we will practice and continue this approach to control the level of infection and prevent peaks or overloads of the medical system,” Shmyhal said.
