Health Ministry calls on Ukrainians to stay home during May holidays

Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said this at a briefing on April 30, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I ask you to stay home during the May holidays. I ask you to observe the lockdown. When reading morning statistics, I very much want us to have no new cases and no deaths," Stepanov said.

He said that 261 patients in Ukraine died of COVID-19 as of April 30. "These are real human tragedies, but this figure is much lower than, for example, in Italy, where on April 30, 27,000 people died and more than 203,000 fell ill, or in Spain, where more than 236,000 people were infected with COVID-19 and 24,000 died," Stepanov said.

According to him, the current incidence of coronavirus disease in Ukraine indicates that the lockdown was introduced in time and gave its results.

Instead, Stepanov stressed that people who do not adhere to lockdown requirements, in particular, by attending mass events, pose at risk not only themselves but also those surrounding them.

"I understand that it is very difficult to stay in lockdown for five or six weeks, but believe me that no one is going to extend the lockdown if there is no reason for this, no one is going not to let people into the parks, to keep certain shops closed, or to restrain small business. It is very important for us that the death toll from COVID-19 is zero. Each time you go to rallies or start violating the lockdown, think about your relatives and loved ones who can be infected during certain events," Stepanov said.

A small-scale protest was held outside the building of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on April 29. The protesters were demanding a relaxation of lockdown measures. Entrepreneurs demanded that the government allow small and micro businesses to operate in compliance with sanitary requirements. The protesters also demanded that the government ensure equal requirements for work in lockdown for everyone: for well-known retail chains, restaurants, etc.

Some 10,406 people contracted coronavirus in Ukraine as of April 30.

op