Ukrainian president says the country's lockdown may be eased earlier than planned

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 20.  Sergii Kharchenko/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Ukraine may move its plans to ease lockdown forward, citing positive trends in the rate of new coronavirus cases, its President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.

In a news conference marking his first year in office, Zelensky said the country might allow some measures to gradually lift lockdown -- including restrictions on public transportation -- to be introduced earlier than anticipated.

"We understand that today there are good statistics," he said, according to a transcript released by the presidential administration. "Thanks to our doctors, and this allows some stages to be … brought closer to the present."

Zelensky added that the government would discuss the possibility of resuming public and suburban transport from Friday, the readout stated.

"We can't provide transport between the regions yet, because we have only six oblasts [regions] ready for it," he said. "We see normal statistics where the number of patients is decreasing only in six oblasts."

Ukraine has 19,230 recorded cases of coronavirus with 564 deaths, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.