The imposition of quarantine in Ukraine should prevent the large-scale spread of coronavirus. In this situation, the right thing to do is to limit the number of visits to public places as much as possible, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
"Where does coronavirus spread? Where there is a large group of people. We must not wait for an increase in the number of patients in Ukraine - we must close everything we can where there is a large group of people,” the Head of State said during the Freedom of Speech program on ICTV channel.
He added that the closure of the subway in this case is justified, as there are a large number of passengers every day.
“Just as a person, not as a President, I would like everyone to be at home. This is the best way to fight coronavirus. But if we go and use transport - please, minibuses, taxis, trolleybuses, trams,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
He reminded that in these types of public transport it was recommended to carry no more than 10 passengers - for minibuses and 20 passengers - for trolleybuses and trams.
The Head of State noted that he understands citizens' concern about getting to work, but in the fight against the rapidly spreading virus, the authorities should do everything to prevent the number of patients from growing.
“That is, we address priority issues. The priority is people's lives. Then work,” he added.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also stressed that pensioners who receive less than five thousand hryvnias will receive additional financial support from the state.
According to the President, a program for assisting lonely elderly people in delivering food and essential goods is also being developed, as many of them physically cannot go to the store or pharmacy.
When asked by the host what to do in cases when mayors of Ukrainian cities, such as Kharkiv, do not comply with the government's orders to restrict the operation of public transport and other quarantine measures, Volodymyr Zelenskyy replied: "I think every sick person in Kharkiv is fully his (Kharkiv mayor - ed.) responsibility. And frankly, if he breaks the law, he will face criminal liability”.