KYIV, April 13 – Ukraine will start to gradually reopen its economy in early May after coronavirus pandemic slows down and the number of new cases declines, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Monday.

The government ordered a lockdown through most of the country on March 24 after several European countries, such as Italy and Spain, reported thousands of deaths caused by the coronavirus.

"Those countries see the number of [coronavirus] cases decreasing, so they start talking about ending their quarantine,” Shmyhal said. “We are so far moving upwards in the number of cases. The turning point will hopefully come after [Orthodox] Easter.”

The number of coronavirus cases in Ukraine rose by 325 over the past 24 hours to 3,102 as of Monday, while the number of deaths increased by 10 to 93, according to the Healthcare Ministry.

The plan to reopen the economy, which is yet to be approved by the government, calls for the creation of 500,000 jobs to accommodate people that were laid off during the pandemic, Shmyhal said.

The plan also calls for providing cheap loans to small and medium-size businesses that had to shut down operation during the quarantine, Shmyhal said, adding that public transportation restrictions will be gradually removed.

Schools will probably reopen in early June and will stay open through early July allowing students to finish the school year. In early June, the government will lift the ban on attending public parks and shopping malls, and completely lift restrictions on public transportation, Shmyhal said.

Senior citizens, who are most vulnerable to coronavirus, will be allowed to end their self-isolation, but social distancing rules will continue to be in effect through the rest of the year.

With coronavirus quarantine in effect for more than a month, Ukraine’s economy will probably contract 5% on the year in 2020. “This is an optimistic scenario,” Shmyhal said. If the number of coronavirus cases continues to increase, delaying the restart, the economy may contract 15% on the year in 2020, he said.

The government “plans to support socially vulnerable segments of the population, help the unemployed and those on forced leave, to mobilize medical resources and to support the medical staff and all those involved in the fight against the epidemic,” Shmyhal said. (tl/ez)