Zelensky sets up Coordination Council to fight coronavirus spread

President Volodymyr Zelensky has created a Coordination Council to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 as an advisory board.

The decree to that effect, No. 88/2020, has been published on the website of the head of state.

"To establish a Coordination Council on countering the spread of COVID-19 as an advisory board to the President of Ukraine, the main task of which is to monitor the situation and develop proposals for implementing effective measures to fight the spread of COVID-19 in Ukraine,” the document says.

The Coordination Council is chaired by the president. In addition to Zelensky, the Council includes Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, Health Minister Illia Yemets, Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Kryklii, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Defense Minister Andriy Taran.

As Ukrinform reported, the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic.

Starting from March 12, a quarantine has been introduced in Ukraine for three weeks, as well a package of anti-epidemic measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

On March 14, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a resolution to temporarily ban foreigners from entering Ukraine and close international passenger traffic from 00:00 on March 16 until April 3, 2020.

As of March 16, five coronavirus cases were confirmed in Ukraine, including one death.

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