Ukraine will suspend entry for foreigners traveling from several African countries where the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been detected, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during a televised government meeting on Dec. 2. The temporary entry ban will come into force at midnight on Dec. 3. The rules apply to
Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said that people who don’t have a full vaccination certificate, a recent negative PCR test result or certificate of recovery from Covid-19 will be banned from gyms, theaters, museums, clubs, restaurants, and cultural events. Vaccination will be made mandatory for workers at economically strategic enterprises,
Third booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine will be available in Ukraine starting January-February 2022, Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said in an interview with BBC Ukraine. He assured that there are enough vaccines in Ukraine — the ministry has already signed contracts with suppliers for next year. If necessary, it’s
The new variant has not been officially recorded in Ukraine as of Nov. 29, according to Health Minister Viktor Lyashko. The World Health Organization warned that Omicron has many mutations that may make it more virulent than the previous strains and get around immunity. First reported in South Africa on
Law enforcement arrested five people for selling fake negative PCR tests, Ukrainian and Slovakian vaccine passports on Nov. 26 in Zakarpattia Oblast. Amongst confiscated materials were computers that contained personal information about clients that used the services. According to the data, nearly 4,500 individual fake Covid-19 documents were created
The U.S. pharmaceutical will deliver the vaccines in 2022-2023, Health Minister Viktor Lyashko announced on Nov. 23. Ukraine has fully vaccinated 10.2 million people, or 25% of the population. A delayed rollout and widespread vaccine skepticism have slowed down the vaccination drive, putting stress on the country’s
“For the past two weeks we have seen a decline in the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths,” Ukraine’s Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko said on Nov. 19. The recent wave has been the deadliest in Ukraine, as the Delta variant, the most transmissible Covid-19 strain associated with increased
Due to its low vaccination rate and large number of Covid-19 cases, Ukraine remains on the Council of Europe’s red travel list, which gets updated every two weeks. That means non-essential travelers from Ukraine are restricted from entering the European Union. Individual EU countries may lift restrictions for vaccinated
A hospital in Uzhhorod, a regional capital in western Ukraine, opened a vaccination center where people can get a shot without the need to provide passport details. Patients still have to sign a consent form but are allowed to use fake names. Local authorities believe this will encourage people who
Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said that it was time for those with only one dose to get their second and urged them to hurry, as a single dose is not enough to protect against the disease. According to the Health Ministry, almost 30% of Ukrainians have received the first vaccine
The Security Service of Ukraine on Nov. 16 said the plotters worked toward “the violent dismantling of the country’s constitutional order” under the guise of anti-vaccination activism. The SBU operatives said they found written evidence that the plotters were looking for weapons and accomplices to take over certain regions.
Patients who are not fully vaccinated also account for 94% of hospitalizations, according to the ministry’s data from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31. Fully vaccinated people are nine times less likely to die and five times less likely to be hospitalized from complications related to COVID-19. Only 22% of
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainians will get funds through the government-run Diia app, which tracks COVID-19 vaccination status. The money can be used to pay for movie, museum and concert tickets, fitness classes, and domestic travel. The program, which will start on Dec. 19, aims to support industries that
