Moscow announces closure of non-essential services as Covid cases surge
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During this closure of non-essential businesses in Moscow, all restaurants and cafes will be allowed to only sell take-away food. In addition to this, any large gathering is also prohibited
As cases are alarmingly increasing in Russia, the capital city has decided to shut all its non-essential services between October 28 and November 07.
Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has announced an 11-day closure to make sure that the spread of the deadly coronavirus can be stopped.
"Situation in Moscow is continuing to develop according to the worst-case scenario," the Mayor said.
This announcement has come a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a nationwide paid week off towards the end of the month. The decision has been taken to curb the spread of the virus.
In addition to this, Putin has also shifted all of his meetings and engagements to virtual mode and has cancelled all in-person meeting. This will continue till the civilians are advised to stay at home and follow a non-working period.
"There will be no face-to-face events taking into account the difficult epidemiological situation," his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti.
During this closure of non-essential businesses in Moscow, all restaurants and cafes will be allowed to only sell take-away food. In addition to this, any large gathering is also prohibited.
Schools will remain shut during this time; this closure time has coincided with national school holidays, giving students time to relax.
However, theatres and museums have been allowed to operate but people can enter only if they are able to show the needed QR code on the entrance gate.
Russia had reported 1,036 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours on Thursday. However, as only 35 per cent of the population has been vaccinated, authorities have warned people that the worst is yet to come.
Meanwhile, the government and medical experts are still urging locals to give up vaccine hesitancy and get vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus as soon as possible. President Putin has also been fully vaccinated.