As COVID‑19 cases increase across Ukraine, the government has figured out who poses a danger: foreign tourists.

On Aug. 26, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to close Ukraine’s borders to most foreigners from Aug. 29 to Sept. 28. They justified this decision as a measure to combat the spread of COVID‑19.

For anyone who has been following the pandemic in Ukraine, that decision sounds strange. Foreign visitors already are required to have COVID‑19 insurance and spend 14 days in self-isolation or undergo a COVID‑19 test upon arrival in the country.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian citizens flout the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, taking their masks off in public transport and shops, ignoring physical distancing and spending time in crowded places. The government does little more than encourage them to follow the rules.

But there is, perhaps, another reason for the ban: On Sept. 18–20, Jews around the world will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. For members of the Breslov Hasidic sect, the holiday is a time to come to Ukraine and make a pilgrimage to the gravesite of the founder of their movement, Rabbi Nachman, in the city of Uman.

Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims come from Israel and the United States to Ukraine for the holiday. This year, both the Ukrainian and Israeli governments have, to varying degrees, called for the pilgrimage not to take place, as it poses a risk of spreading COVID‑19, both in Ukraine and abroad.

But enforcing that has proven a challenge. One cannot simply ban religious Jews from entering the country, nor can the authorities fully close off Uman.

Although the Ukrainian government has not said this directly, the entry ban for foreigners may be an effort to stop the pilgrimage.

We certainly hope that is the case. Normally, Rosh Hashanah in Uman is a fantastic celebration representing the diversity of Ukraine’s history and its connection to Jewish communities around the world. During the pandemic, however, thousands of people crowded into the holy sites of Uman risk creating a superspreader event that could send both Ukraine and Israel back into lockdown.

Moreover, if stopping the Uman pilgrimage is not the reason for the entry ban, it suggests that the Ukrainian government has decided to use foreign tourists as a convenient scapegoat for its failure to prevent the spread of COVID‑19.

There is no doubt that tourists aren’t the reason for the spread of COVID‑19. Rather, it is the government’s desire to fully reopen the economy without enforcing masking and social distancing.

And if the situation is lax in Kyiv — one of the epicenters of the local epidemic — it is even worse outside the capital. Ukraine is a ticking time bomb for COVID‑19, but the authorities are not doing enough to keep the pandemic under control.