Kyiv, 8 oblasts leave 'red' quarantine zone

As the epidemic situation improves in Ukraine, the city of Kyiv and eight oblasts eased Covid-19 quarantine restrictions, moving from the strictest "red" status on Dec. 7.

Donetsk Oblast has been moved into an "orange," second-strictest zone. Seven more oblasts, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Luhansk, Lviv, Odesa, Rivne, and Kherson oblasts now have the "yellow" status.

Currently, 14 Ukrainian oblasts are yellow, one is orange, and 10 are red.

To visit venues and events in the yellow zone, people must have proof of at least one dose of vaccine, a negative PCR test done within 72 hours or a certificate of recovery from Covid-19.

In yellow zones, people without the mentioned documents are banned from:

• Dining at bars, restaurants, and cafes.
• Partaking in religious, social, sporting, entertainment, cultural, and other events.
• Attending theaters, cinemas, gyms, museums, and other cultural establishments.

Grocery stores, banks, pharmacies, gas stations, and pet stores are accessible to everyone but they must enforce social distancing and face covering. Public transport must run at 50% capacity and enforce mask-wearing.

Ukraine has seen falling numbers in new Covid-19 cases for four weeks in a row, Health Minister Viktor Liashko said at a briefing on Dec. 6. In the past week, the number of detected cases declined by 15% and hospitalizations were down by 13%.

Infections soared in Ukraine this fall with the coronavirus's contagious Delta variant but Liashko said Ukraine has passed the peak of this latest wave in late November.

As of Dec. 8, Ukraine has fully vaccinated over 12 million people, or 29% of the general population.