Friday, November 6, 2020

Moscow Asks Russians Not to Travel Abroad Lest They Return Infected

Paul Goble

            Staunton, November 5 – The Russian foreign ministry has asked Russians not to travel abroad lest them become infected and then spread the coronavirus on their return (regnum.ru/news/3107906.html). Many countries already restrict Russian entry because of the pandemic; China joined their number today (regnum.ru/news/3108050.html).

            Officials recorded 19.404 new cases of infection over the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total to 1,712,858, and 292 new deaths, raising that toll to 29,509 for the pandemic as a whole (https://t.me/COVID2019_official/1917).

            The pandemic continued to rage with slight improvements in a few places and larger deteriorations in other locations (regnum.ru/news/society/3107229.html and regnum.ru/news/society/3101964.html). Ever more Russians are complaining the government didn’t do enough to prepare for the second wave (meduza.io/feature/2020/11/05/u-rossii-bylo-vremya-chtoby-podgotovitsya-ko-vtoroy-volne-kovida-no-teper-skorye-zahlebyvayutsya-ot-vyzovov-a-mest-v-bolnitsah-bolshe-net).

            Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the situation remains tense but that he has no plans to introduce harsh quarantine restrictions (regnum.ru/news/3107970.html).  But at the same time, he has extended distance learning for the upper grades for another two weeks (ura.news/news/1052457291).

            The St. Petersburg government tightened restrictions because coronavirus conditions have deteriorated (regnum.ru/news/3108080.html), with only nine percent of hospital beds now left free for an influx of new coronavirus infection cases  (znak.com/2020-11-05/v_peterburge_ostalos_9_koek_dlya_bolnyh_koronavirusom).

            The Northern capital has also closed fast food restaurants and food plazasand ordered self-isolation for pensioners (regnum.ru/news/society/3108024.html and regnum.ru/news/3107274.html).

Outside the capitals, the situation appears to be generally worse, with many more imposing restrictions and limiting access to key institutions (ura.news/news/1052457254 and

gazetaingush.ru/obshchestvo/verhovnyy-sud-ingushetii-priostanovil-priem-grazhdan-do-1-dekabrya-iz-za-epidobstanovki).

            On the medical front, officials admitted that 30 to 40 percent of coronavirus test results are not accurate, the result less of problems with the tests than with their administration (interfax.ru/russia/735678). Medicine shortages in some places have reached dangerous levels (regnum.ru/news/3107158.htm). And many don’t have enough doctors and nurses to treat the flood of new patients (ura.news/news/1052457347).

            Economic news continued to be bad. Russians are pulling money out of banks to try to cope with falling incomes and rising expenses and ever more companies are facing bankruptcy with officials uncertain how to respond (regnum.ru/news/3107851.html,  regnum.ru/news/economy/3106437.html, echo.msk.ru/news/2736984-echo.html and

kp.ru/daily/2171204/4315930/).

            Meanwhile in other pandemic-related developments in Russia today

·         Russians are being encouraged to reduce contact with their pets who may be coronavirus carriers (versia.ru/bolnyx-koronavirusom-predosteregli-ot-kontaktov-s-domashnimi-zhivotnymi).

·         The pandemic has led to an explosive increase in the number of video games being purchased and played in Russia (rusmonitor.com/pandemiya-stala-stimulom-rosta-industrii-videoigr-prodazhi-vyrosli-na-20.html).

·         And in Russian-occupied Crimea, the authorities have announced a temporary suspension of the registration of marriages (regnum.ru/news/3107288.html).

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