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| - Ukraine said Friday it would close its borders to foreigners for at least two weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, as it reported its first fatality caused by the infection. "Ukraine's borders will be closed to foreign citizens for two weeks," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the country's Security and Defence Council, told reporters, adding that the measure will take effect in 48 hours. The news was announced minutes before the country reported its first death from the virus. The ex-Soviet country, which has a population of 42 million, has so far reported three confirmed cases of the COVID-19 infection. Danilov said that all Ukrainians will be allowed to return to the country, and those coming back from the nations most affected by the pandemic will have to be quarantined. The ban on foreigners would only be waived for diplomatic workers, he said. Ukraine's deputy health minister, Viktor Lyashko, speaking alongside Danilov, said a woman who was diagnosed with the coronavirus on Thursday has died. He added the woman who lived in north-west Zhytomyr region was in her seventies and was suffering from double pneumonia after she returned from a trip to neighbouring Poland. "Doctors, unfortunately, could not save her life," Lyashko said. On Thursday Ukraine closed schools and universities nationwide and banned all major public events as part of containment measures, while Ukraine's Orthodox Church told worshippers it was okay not to kiss icons. dg/pma
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