Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has said local governments are not authorized to ease or cancel quarantine in Ukraine, this is exclusively the prerogative of the government.
The minister explained the decision regarding the quarantine was not based on a particular vision of officials. In order to come up with relevant initiatives, the Health Ministry gathers epidemiologists and virologists, examines foreign experience, and, based on this, makes its proposals.
"I don't know what kind of argumentation the mayors of cities have begun to use. At least, they didn't contact us for advice or local specialists, so apparently this is a purely political decision," he said during an online briefing.
Stepanov reiterated the Health Ministry would offer easing quarantine measures from May 11.
"If we are talking about the legal part, in accordance with the law on infectious diseases, it is clearly defined that the introduction of quarantine in the country is exclusively the prerogative of the Cabinet of Ministers," the minister added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the quarantine-related restrictions were eased in Cherkasy on May 1. Shops, parks and restaurants' outdoor facilities reopened there. Limitations on public transportation in the city were also lifted.
Cherkasy police opened a criminal case for the violation of sanitary measures.
