Latest from Russia on #COVID-19

Moscow has witnessed a lot of changes since the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Along with other regional capitals a tough lockdown and so called self-isolation have been widely introduced and the current status quo is still on and being strictly controlled by local authorities. Many municipalities, first of all, in Moscow introduced a system of temporary passes (for one full day) to leave homes, whether to go to work or use public transport for personal reasons. In Moscow it’s a quite simple procedure which can be done in a few minutes via sms-message or online using the municipal web-site. A person is granted a QR-code with 16 symbols which he or she has to present to police or National guard patrols upon request together with personal ID. (The number of issued passes show that the majority of economically active Moscow population - more than 3.5 million persons - have to work to make their living), writes Alex Ivanov, Moscow correspondent.

The same goes for a car drive in and out of Moscow. By the way, many Moscow inhabitants preferred to stay in the countryside (dachas) rather to remain locked in their flats.

The official figures of infected, recovered and deaths are still moderate if one tries to compare them with similar data in Europe or US. But nevertheless the disease is constantly spreading, raising the sad indicator of death toll. Now Russia has around 100,000 sick people who are in hospitals or isolated and treated at home and more than 900 dead. More than 10,000 people have successfully recovered.

President Putin looks very active and determined to fight the pandemic, appearing every other day on TV, while presiding over various video-sessions with relevant government members or heads of Russian regions.

Russian government showed interest in supporting small and medium businesses, as well as those who lost their jobs after the lockdown had been imposed, i.e. after March 1. Mothers with children also should receive a 3-months consecutive payments (5.000 rubles or approximately 61 Euros per child in one month) as a mean of support for the population. At the same time many complain that all those “rescue” payments are not sufficient, to say nothing about traditional bureaucratic procrastination while trying to arrange payments. First of all it concerns the widely announced unemployment benefits (around 155 Euros) which in fact rather modest taking into account high living costs in Moscow.

The government is also busy with building new hospitals to absorb a growing number of affected by the new virus. One of the examples is a recently completed facility outside Moscow. It was erected in a record short period of time - one month, able to receive more than 800 patients. Alas,  it’s obvious than this new hospital won’t be enough to resolve the situation with steadily growing numbers of new COVID-19 cases. Along with this analysts claim that the cost of a new hospital is extremely high.

On the other hand Moscow and Russia as a whole are in a much favorable position compared to other European countries as well as the USA. The WHO officials praise Russian authorities for their sufficient efforts to curb the pandemic. No matter what critics and opponents say about real actions from the central and local governments, the situation is more or less under control. Kremlin is also very cautious with announcing the end of quarantine limitations. First it was set to the end of April, now there voices that it could be extended additionally, if necessary. President Putin recently took a brave decision to postpone the Victory Day celebrations (May, 9), including a huge military parade.

So, let’s wait and see new developments in Russia at this very dramatic period of human history. The world is totally global, no one is able anymore to remain on his or her own, separated from the rest of the planet. Russia as well.

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