The weekend quarantine is a chance to avoid complete lockdown. The government's task is to help SMEs survive these restrictive measures. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his vlog.
The Head of State noted that the introduction of the weekend quarantine may or may not be supported, but it is necessary to understand why such a decision was made.
"We have new records every day - more than 12 thousand patients a day. It is necessary to bring down the dynamics of growth of patients. Our doctors are heroically resisting the virus, but we should not be brought to a situation where they really have to choose who to treat,” the President said.
He noted that the introduction of a full lockdown for the whole week in order to reduce the number of patients with COVID-19 will cause much greater damage to business and the economy than the weekend quarantine.
"The weekend quarantine is a chance to avoid complete lockdown. And if we have such a chance, we should use it," Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.
At the same time, the President agrees that even such a limited quarantine will cause significant losses for certain areas of business. Therefore, the government must provide them with programs and tools to support them.
"This is the main task: the government must do everything possible to ensure that these three weekends, these six days, do not become critical for the existence of SMEs," the President stressed.
He also noted that the effectiveness of the weekend quarantine depends on the interaction of business and government - central and local.
"But some mayors, unfortunately, and I state this, continue local elections. They think not about the number of patients in their cities, but about the number of votes in the second round. And we take difficult and sometimes really unpopular steps because we are fighting not for personal ratings, but for the lives of Ukrainians. Coronavirus forces us to make difficult decisions," Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded.
However, if citizens, businesses and local authorities actually adhere to quarantine over the weekend, there will be a chance to avoid a complete lockdown.
The President also stressed that during a pandemic, special attention is paid to the health of the nation. Therefore, it was decided to develop a program that would promote the improvement of the health of citizens.
"To be healthy is the desire of each of us. And I initiated the development of the national program "Healthy Ukraine". My global idea is quite simple: the state should provide a person with, so to speak, a basic set for good health," he said.
The Head of State noted that it is not only about physical things, but also about good habits, prevention, proper nutrition, activity.
"This is when Ukrainians are involved in sports since childhood and continue to do it all their lives. Not when they can buy a fitness club membership, but when they have the opportunity to run, ride a bike, swim, do any training. And it's convenient because it's close to home. And it is fashionable, because that's what everyone does," the President added.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that the idea to develop such a program struck him during a conversation with Vitaliy Markiv, a National Guard member released from an Italian prison, who was constantly maintaining his physical shape in prison.
"I am convinced that the idea of being healthy should, in a good sense of the word, infect us all. Infect and charge," the President summed up, saying that it could unite citizens.