Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that the government intends to tighten control over compliance with quarantine restrictions by citizens and businesses.
At a government meeting on Friday, Shmyhal noted that "coronavirus is not some fake stuff, it's not a made-up thing, it's a threat that's among all of us", and the only way to protect ourselves from the disease is to comply with the anti-epidemic rules developed by the Ministry of Health.
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"Unfortunately, local authorities, which are called upon to tighten quarantine bans, in some cases simply decided to turn a blind eye to threats. Dear colleagues from regions, I understand that your minds are already occupied with elections, but in this way you could only earn political points at the cost of people's lives," PM said.
He assured that the government cannot and will not remain indifferent.
"We will tighten control over compliance with anti-epidemic measures. I ask Viktor Liashko [chief medical officer]. The leadership of the Ministry of Health, headed by the chief medical officer, must deploy to the regions to provide control. The control by the National Police and the State Food and Beverage Agency will also be tightened. Today, all relevant meetings have been held, and we will act tougher to ensure that Ukrainians are safe," said Shmyhal.
He instructed Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov and Minister of Interior Arsen Avakov to ensure enhanced monitoring of quarantine bans in the regions.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine on the morning of June 19 reported a total of 34,984 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 985 deaths and 16,033 recoveries. The daily spike as of Friday morning amounted to 921 new active cases.
