Bryan MacDonald
RTMon, 16 Mar 2020 21:31 UTC
© Sputnik / Kirill Kallinikov
After videos went viral at the weekend showing Russian soccer fans chanting about the coronavirus in packed stadiums, some expressed concern that the country was in denial over Covid-19. If so, that ended on Monday.
In Moscow, all outdoor events have been banned and schools will be closed. Meanwhile, indoor gatherings will be restricted to a maximum of 50 people. The orders were published on the website of the capital's mayor Sergey Sobyanin and came only a few hours after a spokesman said the Kremlin "saw no need" to introduce a state of emergency.Under the measures, schools will be shut from March 21, with only small daycare groups in primary schools excluded. Meanwhile, older people are asked to limit contact with the outside world as much as possible and to remain at home. All visitors from the rest of Europe, and North America, will be subject to 14 days of self-isolation on arrival. At the same time, bus drivers will stop issuing tickets to protect themselves from contact.
The prohibition on outdoor gatherings effectively means the Russian football season will be at least partially suspended, as four of the Premier League's 16 teams are Moscow-based, with CSKA and Lokomotiv both scheduled to play at home this weekend.
In ice hockey's Kontinental Hockey League, both Dynamo and CSKA feature in the playoffs. The 50-person limit on indoor crowds will also affect bars and restaurants, as well as theatre shows and various public meetings.
"The restrictions introduced today are absolutely necessary and will be lifted (canceled) immediately after this need disappears," the website explained.
Meanwhile, Moscow authorities have introduced a bonus payment for doctors who are working with coronavirus patients. It comes as the number of Russian Covid-19 cases leaped by almost 50% in one day, with 30 new cases, 20 of them in the capital. The nationwide total is now 93, with 53 in Moscow.
Comment: Soon after this article was published, Russia
announced that all foreign nationals would be banned from entering the country until May. Earlier in the day Canada did essentially the same thing,
banning all foreign nationals aside from US citizens.
Meanwhile in the US, six counties around San Francisco have
ordered all people to stay home while only keeping essential businesses open. That's 6.7 million residents ordered to not leave their house.
Many people around the world are still battling the common flu. Stigmatization of these individuals is to be expected.