The Cabinet of Ministers extended Ukraine's adaptive quarantine through March 31 to counteract the pandemic, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Dec. 15.
"This means that all the rules for public places with Covid certificates, on wearing masks, on the (social) distance remain in force," Shmyhal explained.
Under adaptive quarantine measures, Ukraine’s oblasts are color coded green, yellow, orange and red, depending on the rates of infection and hospitalization.
Shmyhal said that the country must maintain its inoculation pace until 70% of adult Ukrainians are vaccinated.
On Dec. 13 Health Minister Viktor Lyashko announced that 40% of adults are now fully vaccinated. Over 12.6 million Ukrainians have gotten both shots, about 33% of a population of 38 million.
Starting on Dec. 15, Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi oblasts left the red quarantine zone and switched to yellow. Right now, there are eight oblasts left in the red zone, two in the orange zone and 15 in the yellow zone.
Starting on Dec. 6, new quarantine rules came into force in Ukraine. In yellow zones, businesses can operate only if their employees and customers can present a document that they received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, a negative test, which is valid within 72 hours, or a certificate of recent recovery from Covid-19.