To close borders for foreigners. Positive or negative decision?
28.08.2020

Andriy Guck for Hromadske radio:

It is a serious international scandal to ban all foreigners from entering Ukraine because of one category. At the same time tourist charters for Ukrainians continue to be allowed. Ukrainians keep on being sent on holiday abroad, but there is a ban for foreigners to enter Ukraine – it is very difficult for me to find logic here.

Foreigners usually follow the rules and made the necessary tests when they entered the country, which prevented the spread of the virus. Such decisions are made without considering consequences for the country. Ban for foreigners to enter Ukraine actually means a ban on air travel.

With such a ban, it is simply not profitable for airlines to conduct international flights, on which most of the passengers were taken from them. There are only certain destinations where most passengers will be Ukrainians – Italy, Turkey, but all other flights will be cancelled.

Why do all countries apply quarantine measures? In order to win the time to prepare certain solutions and methods to combat the virus. Ukraine had plenty of time to prepare for the next wave of the virus. Banning everything is the easiest decision that can be made.

I do not understand the reason for the panic. It seems that the cause of the virus in Ukraine is foreigners who want to fly for religious tourism, which is not the case. This is not a fight against the causes, this is not stopping the virus, this is just a political and panic decision. It is abnormal that the state reacts with such bans. Such actions of Ukraine create a certain unpredictability and give certain signals to investors, foreign partners.

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