What did Ukraine's border closure on 16 March 2020 change?
A look back at the day Ukraine barred foreign nationals from entering, days into a nationwide quarantine.
What did Ukraine do on 16 March 2020, as the coronavirus outbreak spread across Europe? From 00:00 that day, the country barred foreigners and stateless persons from entering its territory until 3 April.
The entry ban came as part of a wider response. On 11 March 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced a quarantine running from 12 March to 3 April. Mass events of more than 200 people were prohibited, and kindergartens and educational institutions were closed. As reported at the time, the government said some sporting events might still go ahead, but without spectators.
The border measure followed Ukraine's first death from COVID-19. On 13 March 2020, the Ministry of Healthcare reported that a 71-year-old woman from Radomyshl, in Zhytomyr region, had died from the disease.
A regional pattern
Ukraine's neighbours were also tightening controls in the same days. On 12 March 2020, Slovakia ordered its borders closed to non-residents and shut its international airports and schools. Poland suspended all schools and universities that day, closed theatres, operas, cinemas and museums for two weeks, and banned mass events. The Polish Football Association said two friendly matches scheduled for later in March, against Finland and Ukraine, would be played behind closed doors.
Earlier, on 10 March 2020, Poland's Ministry of National Defence announced that its General Commander, Jarosław Mika, had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Germany, making him NATO's highest-ranking armed forces member infected.
By 16 March 2020, then, Ukraine had combined domestic restrictions, in place since 12 March, with a ban on foreign arrivals that was set to last as long as the quarantine, until 3 April.
