Moscow authorities will not introduce a lockdown due to “omicron”
The capital's mayor's office does not plan to introduce a lockdown against the backdrop of an increase in the incidence. The authorities maintain a reserve of free beds and focus on hospitalization rates, with the spread of “omicron” they are noticeably lower than with the “delta”
No lockdowns or closures
In Moscow, against the backdrop of the spread of the strain “omicron” a lockdown will not be introduced, the current measures are quite enough, two sources close to the city authorities told RBC. According to one of them, when deciding on new restrictive measures due to COVID-19, the city hall pays attention to the number of hospitalizations. By January 27, this figure in the capital reached 1.4 thousand people per day. According to the source, additional measures will not be considered if the figure does not grow to at least 3-4 thousand per day.
The interlocutor of RBC recalled that during the spread of the Delta strain, the share of hospitalizations in relation to the number of cases reached 20% daily. Now this figure is about 5.5%. There are about 7,000 beds available in the city (42% of the deployed bed fund), he specified.
The RBC interlocutor explains the refusal of the lockdown by its negative consequences for business and the labor market.« And the transfer of the educational process to a long distance mode also does not help reduce the incidence, since schoolchildren and students, due to their age and behavior, are irresponsible in observing the prescribed restrictions.
Last week, the fact that the introduction of a lockdown in Moscow due to the Omicron strain is not discussed, the Kremlin said after the meeting between President Vladimir Putin and the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin. “We talked in great detail about the coronavirus, Sobyanin informed the head of state about what was happening in the city, & mdash; Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said then. — The city, as you know, is the first to face the wave, the first to take on the incoming wave, but there was no talk of any lockdowns.
What restrictions are in place now
According to the restrictions introduced at different times, self-isolation is now in place in Moscow for citizens over 60 years old and chronically ill, their transport cards have been blocked, remote work has been introduced for at least 30% of employees, and the use of masks in public transport, shopping centers and shops is mandatory.
There is also a ban on holding public events, the work of the Moscow Longevity program has been suspended. offline and there are restrictions on holding concerts, cultural and sporting events (except those organized by the authorities), sporting events with more than 500 spectators (the presentation of QR codes is required).
A ban on visiting fan zones has been introduced , dance floors and other venues for events without seating. Theaters and museums can only be visited by owners of QR codes with no more than 70% of seats filled. There are certain seating rules in restaurants, and a ban on smoking hookahs has been introduced in cafes.
Muscovites with symptoms of SARS can now receive medical advice using the telemedicine system. Moscow schools can make their own decisions about the introduction of quarantine. On January 27, Moscow State University announced a possible transition to remote learning, but clarified that the faculties will make this decision on their own.
On January 27, Moscow set another absolute record for the number of coronavirus cases per day. Their number was 26.5 thousand, throughout Russia— 88.8 thousand. The increase in the number of diseases began with the New Year. Sobyanin warned on January 25 that the increase in cases of infection would continue for about two weeks.
How business assessed the refusal to introduce a lockdown in Moscow
Hoteliers and restaurateurs positively assessed the decision of the city authorities not to introduce a lockdown. “We are always against any lockdowns, especially against the background of the fact that all possible measures to prevent, non-proliferation are being taken by shopping centers,” — President of the Russian Council of Shopping Centers Dmitry Moskalenko told RBC.
Hotels have fully adapted to the situation caused by the pandemic, says Alexis Delaroff, CEO of the A Accor New East Europe hotel chain. “We have implemented all the security measures that were recommended by the city government,” — he says. Hotels comply with all the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor, says Vadim Prakhov, vice president of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Russia. “The bulk of infections certainly do not occur in hotels, here the question is more likely to be transport, shopping centers, but not hotels,” — he says.
According to the founder of the network of restaurants «Rabli» Roman Rozhnikovsky, all normal restaurants correctly refer to the recommendations and requirements that have already been introduced, — over two years, we have trained to comply with all the requirements regarding masks, temperature, disinfection and ventilation of premises.
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