Beaches in Kyiv to be closed for swimming until end of season

The beaches in Kyiv will be closed for swimming until the end of the season, the deputy chief doctor of the Kyiv city sanitary and epidemiological service, Yuliy Zhyhalov, has said. 

"It is definitely prohibited to swim," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

"If the water figures are not restored and if they do not comply with sanitary norms, [the beaches will be closed] until the end of the season," he said.

Zhyhalov said that the ban on swimming was introduced as a preventive measure, as the results of measurements in the water "show the prospect of the reproduction of microorganisms."

At the same time, he said the ban on swimming does not mean a ban on visits to beaches.

"We cannot close the beaches," he said.

When asked by Interfax-Ukraine when beaches could be opened for swimming, the doctor noted that for example, in 2010, during a similar situation, the beaches were opened in early October.