The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is elaborating the possibility of opening markets under a certain protocol of compliance with the security rules during the COVID-19 epidemic. These are more than 280 indoor food markets that provide food for Ukrainians and enable small farmers to sell their products.
Consideration of this issue at a forthcoming government session was approved by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a traditional meeting to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic under his chairmanship.
“We understand that there is a certain psychological fatigue. COVID made not only Ukrainians tired. As food markets are extremely important for the survival and nutrition of many citizens, we need to think how to let them work safely. Let's set clear rules and let's open them. We have to learn to live and work in new conditions,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal agreed that the issue of opening markets, the mechanism of their safe functioning and clear sanctions for non-compliance with rules should be considered as early as Wednesday to start opening markets by the end of this week.
At the same time, it became clear at the meeting that Ukrainians are very responsible as regards quarantine - both at Catholic and Orthodox Easter, and in the memorial days, most of them listened to calls for observing the restrictions. According to the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development, this year so far only 13,000 people have visited the cemeteries to honor the dead, while in recent years this figure was 5-7 million.
Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov stressed that the death rate due to COVID-19 in Ukraine is low and is just over 2%. However, the peak incidence is expected only in early May.