The COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Ukraine when the country’s first case was confirmed to be hospitalized in Chernivtsi Oblast on 3 March 2020, a man who had travelled from Italy to Romania by plane and then arrived in Ukraine by car.
An emergency was declared on 20 March in Kiev Oblast, Chernivtsi Oblast, Zhytomyr Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, and the city of Kiev.On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019.Unlike SARS of 2003, the case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.
On 4 February, Ukraine International Airlines suspended its charter service to Sanya Phoenix International Airport in Hainan. Initially, the suspension was set to last until 24 February, however the airline has not yet indicated when it will resume flights. On 12 March, two more SARS-CoV-2 cases were confirmed in Ukraine. The diagnosis was confirmed for a man in the Chernivtsi Oblast, whose wife had recently returned from Italy, and for a 71-year-old woman in the Zhytomyr Oblast, who had returned from Poland on 1 March. The woman, from Radomyshl, in the Zhytomyr Oblast, died on 13 March, becoming the first fatal case in the country.
As of 10:00 on 23 March, there were 73 confirmed cases in Ukraine. During the previous 24 hours, 26 new cases were confirmed.As of 10:00 on 24 March, 11 new cases had been confirmed in Ukraine during the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 84 confirmed cases. This was later raised to 97 confirmed cases.At 10:00 on 26 March, the Ministry of Health stated that 43 new cases had been confirmed in Ukraine during the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 156 confirmed cases. One person in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast died of the disease. By the end of 26 March, there were five confirmed cases in Sevastopol, and nine in the rest of Crimea; over 3,000 people were suspected of having the disease.At 10:00 on 27 March, the Ministry announced that 62 more cases had been confirmed in Ukraine in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 218 confirmed cases.
On 28 March, the Ministry announced that 93 more cases had been confirmed in Ukraine in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 311 confirmed cases. Three more people had died, bringing the total to eight. Another person had recovered, bringing the total to five (four adults and one child). There were reported cases in all parts of Ukraine, except the Kirovohrad Oblast. At 10:00 on 29 March, the Ministry announced that 109 new cases had been confirmed, bringing the total to 418. There had been 248 new reports of suspicion of the disease, bringing the total to 1966 since the start of the year.
Since 6 April, wearing a face mask is required by the government in public places. In Kiev, public places were clarified to include parks and streets.On 21 April, it was reported that the Ministry planned to request an extension of the quarantine until May 12, albeit with some exceptions, such as opening libraries and museums. A day later, the government extended the quarantine measures until May 11; all measures remained in place, with the exception of granting access to public transport to potential blood donors.
On 4 May, the Ukrainian government extended the quarantine until 22 May.A number of restrictions were lifted on 11 May. These included the re-opening of parks, squares, recreation areas, beauty salons, hairdressers and barber shops, cafes and restaurants with outdoor tables. The second stage of easing the quarantine is currently scheduled for 22 May, which envisages the reopening of nurseries, public transport, and hotels, and allowing sports competitions to be held.
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