MOSCOW– Russian President Vladimir Putin backed Wednesday’s Cabinet proposal to declare a week of non-working and to keep Russian workers out of their offices, as coronavirus deaths rose to a new daily record.
On Wednesday, the government task force reported 1,028 deaths from coronavirus over the last 24 hours. This is the highest number of deaths since the outbreak. This brings Russia’s death toll up to 226,353, which is the highest number in Europe.
Putin stated Wednesday that he supported the Cabinet’s proposal for a nonworking week beginning Oct. 30 and continuing through the following week. Four of the seven days are already state holidays. The non-working period could begin as soon as Saturday in certain regions, he said.
Some regions were hit hard by rising infections that forced authorities to stop providing medical aid to the people. Health care facilities had to concentrate on coronavirus patients.
Russia’s daily coronavirus death rates have been rising for several weeks. They reached 1,000 on Saturday, despite sluggish vaccination rates and lax attitudes towards taking precautions. The government’s unwillingness to tighten restrictions and slow vaccination rates has also contributed to the increase.
Around 45 million Russians are fully vaccinated, which is 32% of nearly 146,000,000 people.
Although Russia was the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine in August 2020, and there are many vaccines available, Russians still hesitate about getting them. This is due to skepticism that has been attributed to contradicting signals from authorities.
Sputnik V, three other domestic vaccines were extolled by state-controlled media, but they often criticized Western-made shots. This was a controversial message, which many believed fed public doubts about vaccines.
The Kremlin has so far ruled out a nationwide lockdown, like the one that occurred early in the pandemic. This caused a severe economic blow and shattered Putin’s popularity. It gave regional authorities the power to determine local restrictions based on their circumstances.
Russia’s 85 regions have already restricted access to theatres, restaurants, and other venues and prevented large-scale public events from taking place. Certain public servants, as well as people over 60 years of age, have been required to get vaccinations.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, admitted that the situation was “very sad” and noted that vaccination rates in these regions were particularly low.
Moscow has seen life as usual. There are many people in Moscow: there are many restaurants and movie theatres, a lot of people at nightclubs, karaoke bars, and commuters who ignore mask mandates on public transport, even though ICUs have been filled.
Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow Mayor, stated Tuesday that anyone over 60 who is not vaccinated will have to stay at home. Businesses were also urged to ensure that at least one third of their employees work remotely during the three-month period beginning Oct. 25,
A total of 8 million infections were recorded by the government task force. According to COVID-19, Russia ranks fifth in terms of pandemic deaths, behind Brazil, India, Mexico and the United States.
Rosstat, the state statistics agency, reports a higher death toll from pandemics. It counts deaths where the virus was not considered the primary cause. As of August, there were approximately 418,000 COVID-19-positive people. This number would make Russia the fourth-hardest-hit country, just ahead of Mexico.
