Moscow enters in 10-day lockdown from next week

Friday, October 22, 2021

Russian capital city Moscow will impose a 10-day lockdown from next week in an effort to curb soaring Covid-19 cases, the city’s mayor has said, as Russia endures its worst-ever phase of the pandemic.

Earlier this week, Moscow ordered all unvaccinated residents over 60, as well as unvaccinated people “suffering from chronic diseases,” to remain home for four months until late February.

Russia’s Covid-19 crisis is deepening and its officials have started openly admitting that the country is facing a dire winter.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a Covid-19 taskforce meeting on Tuesday that the burden on medical institutions is seriously increasing, while the governor of the Oryol region, Andrey Klychkov, recently revealed that the region does not have the capacity to hospitalize any more coronavirus patients.

Klychkov said during a live broadcast on Instagram said that the most terrible figure is that we had 1,854 beds prepared; there are no more free beds available. Of course, we will free as many beds as we can, we’ll look for options. But at the moment there are no beds available, and this raises serious concerns.

The experts blame a slow vaccination drive, an overwhelmed health care system and widespread mistrust in government for the situation.

Russia’s efforts to reduce transmission have been seriously hampered by a lackluster vaccination program. Just around 30% of the population is fully vaccinated, in a country where four domestic vaccines are available.

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told that on Tuesday, when the country hit another Covid deaths record, the Kremlin admitted its partial responsibility for the low vaccination rates. Of course, not all that needed to be done was done for informing and explaining the inevitability and importance of vaccination.

« Back to Page

• International Passenger Numbers in Perth Airport Have Rebounded to Pre-Covid Levels

• Explore the enchantment of our sugar bush: A journey into maple syrup magic

• Siargao’s tourist arrivals surge, marks stellar growth in Philippines

• Interview with Ahmad Al-Hmoud of the Jordan Tourism Board at FITUR

• AIME 2024 marks 63 per cent increase in exhibitors from previous year