Ukraine today has a relatively small number of those who have contracted COVID-19 coronavirus due to restrictive measures having being introduced in advance.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal announced in his opening statement during a regular sitting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday, April 29.

The Head of Government noted that in recent days there had been received numerous requests to the Government regarding the need to ease quarantine restrictions. However, according to the Prime Minister, irresponsible calls to exit from quarantine ahead of time can have an adverse impact and expose a lot of Ukrainians to danger.

"I want to appeal to all Ukrainians and especially to business representatives. The fact that we have fewer patients compared to other countries is due to the quarantine measures taken on time and your responsible position on these measures. We have timely embarked on quarantine and will ensure a timely exit," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Denys Shmyhal noted that a five-stage quarantine exit roadmap had been presented the previous week.

"The scale of relaxing restrictions in other areas and facilities will depend on the epidemical situation. I have already instructed all ministries and agencies to develop criteria for those objects that will be opened gradually. This also applies to the opening of agri-food markets. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economic Development (Trade and Agriculture) have, on my commission, already developed clear market operation criteria and clear control algorithms," stressed the Head of Government.

Denys Shmyhal also informed that the day before during a meeting of the Economic Development Council with the participation of leading economists there had been supported "adaptive" quarantine offered by the Government. This means that in case of an outbreak of infection in certain regions, quarantine restrictions will be amplified in that particular area, but not across the country.

"We also have to realize that even after opening all the facilities and transportation - masks, disinfectants and social distance - they will remain in place. This is now the norm," the Prime Minister emphasized.

The Head of Government also raised the issue of high salaries of top officials and members of supervisory boards of state-owned companies and corporations. He noted that it was unacceptable in the conditions of a corona crisis and announced the decision to limit such payments.

Moreover, Denys Shmyhal told that the Government was prolonging its policy of supporting small and medium-sized businesses: "The Government will propose changes that will enable to obtain loans from banks under state guarantees. That is, if the entrepreneur is unable to show "income" because he has failed to work during quarantine, he will still be able to get the money. The State will act as a guarantor."

The Prime Minister also stressed that decentralization reform was not terminated in the country - three more regions obtained promising plans for forming territories of communities.