Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova urged the cabinet to introduce non-working days Oct.30 to Nov.7 in order to curb the spread of COVID-19, amid record rates of infections and deaths.
She suggested non-working days be declared in Russia from October 30 through November 7, and from October 23 in regions with the most serious coronavirus situation. She also suggested QR codes be introduced for access to certain facilities, and mandatory self-isolation for non-vaccinated retirees.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has supported Golikova’s initiative to declare non-working days in Russia and to impose a number of other restrictions in a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus infection.
"Indeed, these are not easy solutions. I would call them forced, but necessary," he said on Tuesday.
The prime minister noted that the coronavirus is demonstrating an upwards tendency in Russia and it is important to stop the infection’s spread. In his words, the previous restrictions managed to do this.
"Huge experience has been gained over the pandemic period, necessary equipment has been purchased, production of necessary medical products and medicines has been established. But the burden on the public health system keeps on growing and we must act proactively," he stressed. "It is about the health of our people."
Last week, coronavirus morbidity and mortality rates reached an all-time high, and growth continued this week. According to the anti-coronavirus crisis center, as many as 8,060,752 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia. A total of 7,040, 481 patients have recovered and 225,325 have died.
The number of fatalities nationwide hit an all-time daily high of 1,015 on Tuesday, versus 998 the day before. The daily tally of new cases is 33,740, with a growth rate of 0.42%
