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The mayor of the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Wednesday announced that strict coronavirus measures in the city would be relaxed later this week as the number of new infections slowly declined.
Former Soviet Ukraine had recently been hit by a spike in new cases and deaths, including in Kiev, prompting authorities to tighten sweeping measures to curb the spread of the virus, including shutting down schools and shopping malls.
They are expected to reopen on Saturday alongside cinemas, gymnasiums and public transport, which had been restricted to the use of essential workers only, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Schools should reopen next Wednesday, added the mayor, after the holidays earlier in the week.
The remaining restrictions, such as maintaining social distancing and masks in public, will be relaxed “gradually,” Klitschko said.
“The infection rate in Kiev has declined slightly, but it is too early to say that we have overcome the challenges,†he said in an online briefing.
Authorities in the capital were reluctant to reimpose restrictions when cases rose for fear of harming the economy of one of Europe’s poorest countries.
The measures came into effect gradually, with cinemas and cafes closed in March and schools and public transport closed earlier in April.
“I understand that everyone wants to get back to normal life. I understand that business is suffering. But the main thing today is to preserve people’s lives and health,” said the mayor.
Officials in Kiev, a city of about three million people, on Wednesday recorded 1,070 new cases and 40 deaths.
These new figures show a downward trend in fresh infections from 1,673 new cases on April 22 and 1886 on April 8.
Ukraine, with a population of around 40 million, struggled during the pandemic.
It recorded 9,590 new cases and 441 deaths on Wednesday. In total, there have been over 2 million infections and over 43,000 deaths.
A vaccination campaign was launched at the end of February and some 560,000 people have so far received a first vaccine.
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© 2021 AFP
Quote: Kiev to Relax Restrictions as COVID Cases Decline (2021, April 28) Retrieved May 4, 2021 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-04-kiev-ease-restrictions-covid-cases.html
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