Ukraine closes borders as coronavirus infections rise

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Ukraine is closing its borders for foreigners from Aug. 29 due to growth in the coronavirus cases, the country’s prime minister announced on Wednesday.

The ban on the entry will last till Oct. 31 and can be expanded if the dynamics will be still negative by that time, Denis Shmyhal said at a meeting with the government members in the capital Kiev.

The exception will be made for the foreign nationals with Ukrainian residence permit and members of international and humanitarian missions, he added.

Ukraine has registered 1,670 new cases over the last 24 hours, pushing the tally to 110,085, according to the Health Ministry.

The death toll rose by 36 over the same period to 2,354 while recoveries increased by 584 to reach 53,454.

The first case of coronavirus infection in Ukraine was detected on March 3 in the Chernivtsi region. On March 17, the authorities announced a nationwide quarantine.

Since Aug. 1 Ukrainian regions have been divided into four zones, where different restrictions apply depending on the outbreak situation.