Covid-19 in Russia: Spike in cases, deaths leads to new restrictions

Published on : 10/20/2021 – 03:41

The surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths, amplified by a sluggish vaccination campaign, is worrying in Russia. The country recorded, Tuesday, October 19, a new record with 1,015 new deaths from the coronavirus in 24 hours, bringing the government death toll to 225,325, the heaviest in Europe. This number is however largely underestimated, the national agency of statistics Rosstat having counted more than 400,000 victims at the end of August.

Faced with this observation, the city of Moscow announced health restrictions.

“The number of people hospitalized for serious cases is increasing with each passing day,” wrote Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, putting in place “urgent measures” to protect the most vulnerable groups, especially the elderly.

The authorities of the capital have thus ordered the compulsory vaccination of 80% of the employees of the services, against 60% currently, by the 1^er January 2022, the confinement of all unvaccinated over 60s from October 25 to February 25 and the teleworking of “at least 30%” of company personnel.

These are the first restrictions ordered in Moscow since those gradually lifted from the end of July. In June, the capital had had a week off to curb the disease then it introduced a health pass for a few weeks, very unpopular and weighing on the economy.

A health pass in St. Petersburg

Before Moscow, several regions reintroduced the obligation to present a health pass to access public places.

On Monday, St. Petersburg, the country’s second city, announced the establishment of such a certificate from 1^er November to access sporting or cultural events bringing together more than 40 people, and from 1^er December to restaurants and shops.

The QR codes will be issued to people who have received the two doses of the Covid vaccine or to those who have performed a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours.

The authorities have also recommended all employers in St. Petersburg to set up telework from 1^er November.

The hypothesis of a nonworking week

In this worrying context, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Health, Tatiana Golikova, asked to declare unemployed throughout the country for the week of October 30 to November 7.

President Vladimir Putin could decide the issue as early as Wednesday. For the regions hardest hit by the epidemic, this measure could even come into force on October 23, according to Tatiana Golikova.

Vladirmir Putin has in the past decreed such holidays on several occasions, and Prime Minister Mikhail Michoustine said he was in favor on Tuesday. The Kremlin has always preferred this measure, intended to limit the movement of people and therefore the virus, to preserve the economy, rather than confine the population.

Faced with the situation, the spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, called on the Russians to be “more responsible” and to be vaccinated, while less than 35% of the population is fully immune against a background of widespread mistrust in with regard to the serums produced by Russia.

With AFP