Ukraine not to introduce tough quarantine – Health minister

Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov says the country will not introduce a tough coronavirus-related quarantine yet.

"I don't think we need a nationwide tough quarantine now if more attention is paid to the quarantine curbs that are in effect in the regions to prevent the situation from reaching the red level. If a region is already at this level, it is important to comply with the rules introduced by the Health Ministry," he told Ukraine's TSN TV news service.

Read alsoLviv to introduce tough quarantine from March 19Stepanov has once again urged Ukrainians to strictly comply with the quarantine requirements.

He also predicted the outbreak of the coronavirus in Ukraine would last by late April.

COVID-19 in Ukraine: Latest developments

• Ukraine confirmed 15,053 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours as of March 18, 2021, having reported this year's highest indicator.
• The total number of confirmed cases grew to 1,504,076. The death toll has hit 29,253 with 267 fatalities recorded in the past 24 hours. As many as 1,244,190 COVID-19 patients, including 6,514 in the past day, have recovered.
• On March 4, 2021, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the country was entering the third wave of the COVID-19 epidemic.