Moscow imposes partial lockdown amid surge in COVID cases; non-essential services to be shut for 11 days
Retail establishments, restaurants, and athletic and entertainment facilities will all stay closed. Schools and kindergartens will also be closed during this time.
FollowFollowing a countrywide spike in daily coronavirus infections and deaths, the Russian capital enforced a partial lockdown on Thursday. To combat the outbreak of the virus, all non-essential services have been ordered to be closed for 11 days. Russia today recorded a record spike in daily coronavirus cases and deaths, with the ministry reporting 40,096 new infections and 1,159 new fatalities. In recent weeks, the daily number of illnesses and fatalities in Russia has increased at the fastest rate since the epidemic began.
Russia has been one of Europe's most impacted countries by the COVID-19 epidemic. One of the first few countries to develop a coronavirus vaccine, Russia has battled with poor immunisation rates thus far. Moscow's authorities have declared that all non-essential services will be closed until November 7. Retail establishments, restaurants, and athletic and entertainment facilities will all stay closed. Schools and kindergartens will also be closed during this time. Shops offering food, medication, and other necessities have been granted permission to operate during this time.
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Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a statewide paid holiday from October 30 to November 7 to combat the rising incidence of diseases. As of now, Moscow officials have abstained from issuing stay-at-home orders during the President's declared non-working time. Russia has officially documented almost 8.4 million COVID-19 cases and over 235,000 fatalities so far.
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Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, seen coughing during a televised government meeting with officials, has clarified that he has a cold, and he isn’t suffering from Covid-19. "Don't worry, everything's fine," Putin said in a videoconference Monday with his Security Council, also shown on state television. "They do tests practically on a daily basis not only for Covid-19 but for all other infections and everything is ok." He also said that he was being tested for Covid-19 every day.
