Ambulances in Normal Operating Mode and Taxis in Emergency Mode

Ukraine has experienced a number of changes in the past couple of weeks and not all of them have been noticed and understood. What are the first signs of panic in a country? People who recall past political crises are rushing to buy extra supplies of salt and matches. Let me tell you that there is no panic or crisis in Ukraine. People who sell salt and matches in Kyiv say that even if there is an increase in sales, it’s due to the larger number of customers.

Kyivans are buying more groats and canned foods. Experts from the Silpo supermarket chain predicted an increase in the sale of canned foods before the New Year, but they say that the protest actions have sparked the sale of larger quantities of buckwheat and semolina. There are also more calls for taxis, mostly from people wanting to get home quickly and comfortably after taking part in the rally, loathing the prospect of standing in a packed metro car or waiting in the cold at a bus stop. Restaurants near the epicenter of the orange revolution are also packed. The Day checked to see whether their owners have responded to the city administration’s appeal to reduce their prices. They have. Practically all the restaurants of the Globe chain display cut rate notices. As reported earlier, the Shvydko Restaurant came out with a special “people’s menu” on the crest of the home guard wave. It includes meat dumplings with cabbage salad, and tea, and costs only four hryvnias. You won’t find anything cheaper at the Globe Shopping Center, which made another attempt to get closer to the people: free restrooms (only recently one had to pay 25 kopiykas). McDonald’s has also deviated from their rule of allowing only customers with cash register slips to use their toilets; now the heavy doors with combination locks are kept open round the clock.

Surprisingly, books and music CDs are also being sold at reduced prices. You would expect intellectual young people arriving in Kyiv to buy cultural goods en masse, considering that finding a good book or a licensed music CD in the provinces is considerably more difficult. In fact, the vendors of such goods are not surprised. “No time for music now,” they explain. There is also little demand for the household chemicals, makeup and perfumes. It has reached the point that many stores with this kind of merchandise are closed, with orange flags draped in the windows. Garment stores fortunate enough to have orange- colored clothing for sale stayed open and did a very good business. National flags of Ukraine are also quite popular.

Another sign that the masses are keeping a firm grip on themselves is the low incidence of heart attacks. Nor have expectations of multiple body injuries been justified. People at the city’s emergency hospital told The Day that they were working a routine schedule, although there were fewer cases of acute appendicitis or cholecystitis. They attributed this to the fact that people are paying less attention to their health, so there have been fewer ambulance calls.

INCIDENTALLY...

The city’s sanitary and epidemiological service is on yellow alert due to the large number of visitors. Public catering and retail trade buildings and premises downtown are inspected more often. Kyivpresinform, relying on the Ministry of Health’s statistics, reports a stable sanitary and epidemiological state. The incidence of enteric infectious diseases is not higher than usual for this season. No epidemic outbreaks have been recorded. At the same time, Chief State Sanitary Inspector of Ukraine Olha Lapushenko stresses that special attention must be paid to the tent cities where people are staying round the clock: “These people must have constant access to medical aid, so I strongly urge local self-government authorities to secure round-the-clock medical teams to provide such aid.”