Kherson Oblast moved into the COVID-19 red restriction zone on Oct. 15, according to Ukraine’s Health Ministry regulations.
The decision was announced by Cabinet Minister Oleg Nemchinov on Oct. 12. Five oblasts – Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv – are on the edge.
Under the adaptive quarantine strategy, Ukraine color codes its regions green, yellow, orange or red, according to the severity of the outbreak there.
Currently, six Ukrainian oblasts are yellow, 17 are orange and now one is red.
“The State Commission imposed restrictive anti-epidemic measures provided for the ‘red’ level of epidemic danger,” – Nemchinov wrote on his Telegram page.
The red zone is proclaimed if more than 320 patients contract COVID-19 per 100,000 people over the past 14 days, while the bed occupancy in hospitals is over 75%.
The restrictions in Kherson Oblast will apply to cinemas, theaters, shopping malls, non-food markets, gyms, swimming pools, cultural institutions, and mass events. But if all staff and visitors have green COVID-19 certificates proving they are fully vaccinated, restrictions will not be applied.
Banks, gas stations, veterinary shops, pharmacies and all grocery stores, kindergartens and schools from grades one through four in the red zone will continue their normal operation following the anti-epidemic rules. Educational institutions, where all the staff have not been vaccinated, are switching to distance learning.
From October 21, residents of the red zone will not be able to travel to other regions without green COVID-19 certificates, a negative coronavirus test or a certificate of recovery from COVID-19 in the past six months.
According to Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin, the epidemic situation is rapidly worsening in Ukraine, but it isn’t yet critical.
“Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions border between the orange and red zones,” Kuzin said on Ukrainian Radio. “The situation is strained, but it can be contained by deploying extra beds or resources of the health care system.”
According to Ministry of Health forecast, “the peak load on the health care system is expected in mid-November.”
Also, according to Ministry of Health data, 17 regions of Ukraine are currently in the orange zone, the others are in the yellow zone.
The city of Kyiv is in the yellow zone. That requires all establishments, such as restaurants, cinemas, gyms and cultural institutions, to operate with lower capacity. The establishments can also choose to allow only vaccinated visitors and keep the full capacity.
