New quarantine rules for businesses: who and how the restrictions will affect

As suggested by the Ministry of Health, the Cabinet of Ministers approved changes to Decree No. 641 on enhanced anti-epidemiological measures in connection with the spread of COVID-19.

The corresponding decision was made during the last meeting, held on November 11.

Two main changes in the quarantine regime are related to the fact that the entire territory of Ukraine is actually recognized as an orange zone with the ensuing legal consequences, and a lockdown is introduced on weekends, until the end of November 2020.

So, the orange zone throughout the country means:

- for the transport and carriers industry - filling stations and service stations work as before, with the exception of the possibility to sell food. But the carriage of passengers is allowed, provided that their number does not exceed the number of seats in the vehicle;

- the sphere of trade - shops can work if more than 60% of their assortment, or rather, the retail space, is allocated for food, medicine, veterinary medicine and feed;

- for catering establishments - work is possible only from 7:00 to 22:00 only without organizing leisure activities. At the same time, targeted delivery and takeaway trade - without any restrictions;

- for the hotel business - hostels are prohibited, the rest continue to work;

- for the sphere of culture - cinemas and theaters can work only if the seats are filled no more than 50%. But nightclubs are outright banned.

As for the organizers of events (cultural, sports, entertainment), there is an allowable limit of 20 people. Exceptions can only be made for certain sport events. By the way, the work of gyms is allowed provided they are full at the rate of 1 person per 20 sq. m. area.

Banks, postal operators, healthcare institutions operate without restrictions.

However, the weekend quarantine introduced until November 30 denotes additional (to the above) restrictions in the form of a direct ban from 00:00 Saturday to 00:00 Monday on:

- reception of visitors in: catering establishments (bars, restaurants, cafes); entertainment establishments (including shopping and entertainment centers); establishments of trade and consumer services for the population (beauty salons, shops of manufactured goods, etc.);

- activities of gyms, fitness centers, swimming pools, cultural institutions;

- carrying out any cultural events.

Recall that the key document that defines the restrictions that are relevant for business and ordinary citizens is the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated July 22, 2020 No. 641 "On the establishment of quarantine and the introduction of enhanced anti-epidemic measures in the territory with a wide spread of the acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by the SARS coronavirus. CoV-2 ".