CBS News reported that, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently applied the most stringent measures to control the wave of Covid-19 epidemics. Specifically, on October 27, Putin decided to ban mask mandatory nationwide, in the context of the virus is spreading violently.
According to what is published on the official website of the Russian Federal Agency for the Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Health (Rospotrebnadzor), the regulation will take effect on October 28. In which people will be required to wear masks in public places – such as buses, trams, elevators, parking lots … The agency also recommends local authorities to prohibit all recreational activities – including bars, restaurants – in the time frame from 11pm to 6am. Safety standards should be absolutely raised on public transport, taxis, or at shops, restaurants, theaters …
Anyone not wearing a mask will be denied service. However, the authorities said they have not planned to close the bars and nightclubs that open overnight.
Russia currently has 1.52 million cases of Covid-19, along with more than 26,000 deaths since the beginning of the epidemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University (USA). On October 26, they saw a record for the number of new infections per day – up to 17,148 cases, and the number of cases in October was also the highest ever.
But despite the rising numbers, the Russian government last week announced it would not re-establish a national blockade, and said the epidemic was “under control”. Essentially, a strict blockade has been shown to be effective in mid-year disease prevention, but has great economic and social consequences.
“On a strict and comprehensive blockade, we have no such plans. The government has no plans to do so,” – Putin said on television last week.
“The situation is under control. It is still tense, but under control,” said Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman.
At the moment, Russia is the country with the 4th highest number of Covid-19 infections in the world, behind only the US, India and Brazil.