Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal in the framework of a working trip to Lviv region gave an interview to the TRK Pershij Zakhidnij (First Western), in which the PM spoke about the continuation of the adaptive quarantine model and ways to restore the Ukrainian economy amid pandemic.

Commenting on the Government decision to extend the adaptive quarantine until July 31, the Prime Minister stressed that this step was triggered by the fact that the number of new patients in Ukraine is growing for a week in a row. According to the Head of the Government, a "complete lockdown" is destroying the economy and can cause more irreparable harm than just a coronavirus epidemic," so the Cabinet of Ministers has extended quarantine in its adaptive version.

According to the PM, society relaxed too early. "The easing of quarantine measures and the general quarantine fatigue from coronavirus have had the opposite effect. People forget about being afraid of coronavirus, someone started spreading myths and fakes that coronavirus does not exist, but people who died from coronavirus are a reality, thousands of sick people in Ukraine are a reality, the growing number of patients with coronavirus every day is a reality, a severe progression of the disease, the lack of medicine, the mortality is three times higher than, for example, in severe influenza - this is also a reality. And these are the threats we have to overcome, " Denys Shmyhal said, adding that Ukrainians must cultivate the habit of adhering to security measures, such as wearing masks in indoor spaces, hand disinfection and social distancing, and then the epidemic can be kept under control.

The Prime Minister placed a special emphasis on the fact that despite the continuation of the adaptive quarantine model, the Government's plans and plans for the recovery of the economy remain staunchest: "The concept that the economy will see growth in the second half of the year remains relevant. We are doing everything to kick off this upturn. That is why we are talking about the adaptive quarantine, not lockdown, that is, the complete shutdown of the whole country, the whole economy. We will be very careful in approaching and maintaining a balance between economic stability and the development and preservation of human health and life. Otherwise, it may lead to incalculable consequences and losses."

Touching upon achieving the goal of significantly reducing interest rates on loans, including mortgages, Denys Shmyhal stressed that the Government actively cooperates with banks, weekly meetings and conferences are held. "Today, the National Bank sends right messages to banks by reducing the discount rate that the cost of money. The interest rate on deposits should gradually decrease, and the interest rate on loans will gradually drop accordingly. It will take some time. We are expanding the opportunities for banks to start lending more actively by Government resolutions and amendments in the legislation, and we are pushing them to lend by restricting their work with certain instruments," the Head of Government stressed.

"The goal of the Government, Denys Shmyhal added, is 5-7% on mortgage loans, not 10%. 10% is the initial minimum mortgage target to spur the economy. Business says that loans should be even cheaper, and we agree with that and we work on it." According to the PM, the time needed to make loans cheaper will take from 3 to 6 months, but, the Head of Government is convinced that by the fall, by the end of the year we will see an improvement in the situation related to the price of financial resources.