Page 7 - RusRPTNov20

2.0​ ​Politics
2.1 ​ ​Coronavirus in Russia’s regions
Moscow is driving the recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections in Russia, but cases are rising across the rest of the country as well. Outside of the capital and the Moscow oblast, 11 regions recorded more than a hundred additional cases at the start of October, with the biggest number of active cases located in St. Petersburg and the Sverdlovsk and Saratov oblasts. That same day, the biggest number of deaths outside of Moscow were recorded in St. Petersburg (26), the Rostov oblast (9), the Dagestan Republic (9) as well as the Kemerovo region (8).
While Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin decided to extend the length of the fall school break from one to two weeks, regions haven’t followed suit yet: Sverdlovsk isn’t seeing a significant rise of “severe cases,” according to the region’s deputy governor, making such a move unnecessary. This is despite the region’s governor warning two days before that children made up nearly half of the active cases in the Sverdlovsk oblast, while more than 300 local schools were closed for quarantine.
The Rostov region has also seen a steady rise in the number of new daily cases, from around 125 in late August to nearly 200 now. More than half of the 2,664 hospital beds for coronavirus patients have already been filled. Worryingly, the region is seeing outbreaks outside of its capital, in cities less equipped to deal with the increasing number of infections: in Azove, the chief doctor of the city hospital complained on September 24 that the 25 beds for coronavirus patients were already occupied by 38 people.
As in the first wave, Moscow has seen the biggest rise in new COVID-19 infections, as well as the strictest new controls. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin unexpectedly closed schools for two weeks, ordered employers to ensure at least 30 percent of their staff are working remotely and told over-65s to stay home. But compared with the total lockdown imposed earlier this year, when shops and cafes were closed and people needed permits to leave their homes, the new measures are still soft.
Nobody is currently contemplating more radical measures for Moscow, according to The Bell’s sources at City Hall. That fits with the information (Rus) reported by Open Media’s sources in the federal government, which is also keen to avoid a strict lockdown. Business figures told The Bell that they have heard nothing about further coronavirus restrictions so far.
At the moment the main measures seem to be verbal instructions. There’s a mixture of exhortation — such as Putin urging (Rus) Russians to remain vigilant in order to prevent a return to a spring-style lockdown — and threats — Sobyanin, for instance, warned Moscow residents: “if we don’t take this seriously, then the probability that we will have to take tougher measures is very high.”
7 ​RUSSIA Country Report​ November 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com