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Ukraine's transport shutdown, and a new education law
Summary
A look back at two measures reported on 18 March 2020, as Ukraine moved to curb the spread of coronavirus.
What did Ukraine's coronavirus restrictions look like in practice by 20 March 2020? Two days earlier, on 18 March 2020, it was reported that rail, bus and air services across the country had been halted, in order to limit the spread of the infection.
The Kyiv metro was to close, and minibuses, trolleybuses and trams were to run with restrictions. Taken together, the measures cut the main means of moving between and within cities.
The stated aim was to restrict the spread of coronavirus infection. Nothing in the reports at the time indicated how long the limits would last.
On the same date, 18 March 2020, the law "On Complete General Secondary Education" came into force. It was reported as a separate event, and it was not presented as part of the response to the virus.
The two developments landed on the same day, but they belonged to different policy tracks: one an emergency curb on mobility, the other a legislative change in the school system taking effect.
