World News | Moscow Eases Coronavirus Restrictions
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. The Russian capital is ending a tight lockdown that has been in place for more than two months, citing a slowdown in the coronavirus outbreak.
Moscow, Jun 8 (AP) The Russian capital is ending a tight lockdown that has been in place for more than two months, citing a slowdown in the coronavirus outbreak.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that starting Tuesday residents will no longer be required to obtain electronic passes for travel and can walk, use public transport and drive without any restrictions.
Hairdressers and beauty salons will be allowed to reopen Tuesday, and cafes and restaurants will be able to open outdoor terraces starting June 16.
Under the lockdown imposed in late March, all nonessential businesses were closed and residents were only allowed to shop at nearby stores and pharmacies, visit doctors and walk their dogs.
The restrictions have been gradually eased. Industrial plants and construction sites were allowed to start working on May 12 and non-food retailers were permitted to reopen last Monday.
The number of daily infections in Moscow has dropped from a peak of about 6,700 to about 2,000 recently. Overall, Russia has registered over 476,000 infections, the world's third-highest caseload after the United States and Brazil, including 5,971 deaths.
Moscow has accounted for nearly half of the nation's infections and coronavirus deaths. Many of Russia's 85 regions already have eased their lockdowns.
Russia says it will partially reopen the country's borders as the country eases coronavirus restrictions.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Monday that traveling abroad for the purposes of work, studying, receiving medical treatment or taking care of relatives will be allowed. He said Russia will let in foreigners seeking medical treatment or taking care of family members.
It wasn't immediately clear when the partial reopening of the borders would go into effect.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters there is “no set date” yet for resuming international flights, which were halted in late March.
Last month, President Vladimir Putin called for gradual lifting of lockdown restrictions, saying that Russia was able to slow down the epidemic.
The country's health officials, however, have been reporting around 9,000 new infections daily since mid May and some experts are concerned that easing lockdown restrictions may be premature. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)