Editor’s Note: After this story was published, Ukraine’s Border Guard clarified that because of an apparent mistake in the new decree, starting on March 23 foreigners with a residency permit can arrive without a negative PCR test result and without a requirement to self-isolate for two weeks. The Kyiv Post is trying to find out more. We do not recommend traveling to Ukraine without a negative PCR test result.
The Cabinet of Ministers has signed a decree on March 22 introducing mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for foreigners traveling to Ukraine.
“The government has made changes to the procedure for crossing the state border of Ukraine, foreigners can cross it if they have insurance, as well as a PCR test done less than 72 hours in advance,” Andriy Demchenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, told news outlet Ukrainska Pravda.
The new rules came into force immediately after the government’s decision. They concern foreigners arriving from all countries, but not foreigners who hold a residency permit in Ukraine.
Because of an apparent error in the new decree, foreigners with a residency permit are currently being let in without a negative PCR test result, and without a requirement to self-isolate for 14 days. They are getting an easier entrance than Ukrainians.
Previously, all Ukrainians and foreign citizens arriving from the countries that Ukraine put on its “red list,” had the option of either spending two weeks in self-isolation or taking the PCR test.
Ukrainians still have the option of either taking the PCR test no later than 48 hours prior to entry or spending 14 days in self-isolation.
Ukrainian citizens under 12 years of age are exempt from these changes and are not forced to self-isolate.
On March 4, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine has entered the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The prime minister didn’t rule out the possibility of another nationwide lockdown. Ukraine had had two nationwide lockdowns before: in March-May 2020, and in January 2021.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian cities began introducing lockdowns to halt the rise in new COVID cases.
Starting March 20, Kyiv is under a lockdown in response to the rising number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. The lockdown in Kyiv will run through April 9.
Another large Ukrainian city, Lviv, introduced a two-week lockdown starting March 19.
The total number of recorded cases in the country since the start of the pandemic is 1.55 million.
On March 22, 333 people with COVID-19 have died, the largest number of deaths since the start of the pandemic. The total number of COVID-related deaths in Ukraine is 30,431, as of March 23.
