No grounds for mandating anti-COVID masking in Russia yet

No grounds currently exist for mandating a general mask regime due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Russia, head of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) and top public health official Anna Popova said.

"As of today, the level of incidence and severity [of COVID-19] is such that, on the whole, there are no grounds for the introduction of a total mask regime in the country," Popova said.

She noted that depending on the epidemiological situation, grounds for introducing a mask regime do emerge among professional groups, and relevant decisions on the matter are being made in various regions.