Paul
Goble
Staunton, September 3 – The Russian
health ministry announced today that it will continue the third phase of
testing the coronavirus vaccine well into 2022, even though it has already
announced plans to inoculate most of the population beginning this week (regnum.ru/news/3053055.html).
This announcement underscores the
difficulties Moscow is having in attracting enough volunteers for a genuine
third phase testing of the vaccine as well as the reluctance of many Russians
to get it with people offering various excuses as to why they won’t be vaccinated
(interfax.ru/russia/724425).
The pandemic continued to ebb and
flow across Russia with both re-openings and new re-closings occurring (regnum.ru/news/society/3051649.html). The Russian government said it had registered 4995
new cases of infection in the last 24 hours, bringing the total so far to 1,009,995
with 114 new deaths, raising that toll to 17,528 (t.me/stopcoronavirusrussia/1843).
The reopening of schools has sparked
concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in them. The Academy of Sciences
and the Health Ministry have issued special guidance on how schools are to
minimize these risks (niigd.ru/pdf/ZOS_21.07.2020.pdf),
including by avoiding testing children in the streets and cutting back on
classes requiring greater contacts (regnum.ru/news/3052993.html and regnum.ru/news/3052842.html).
At
the same time, some commentators are suggesting that despite Russian government
claims, Moscow is working to protect teachers only in schools for children of
the elite and allowing all others to be at risk of infection and therefore a
shift to distance learning (nakanune.ru/articles/116333/).
Among the most important changes in
restrictions: Moscow has dropped limits on foreign travel to visit relatives (regnum.ru/news/3052892.html), and
flights to the UAE, Egypt and the Maldives will resume (stoletie.ru/lenta/rossija_vozobnovila_aviasoobshhenije_jeshho_s_trema_stranami_364.htm).
On the economic front, Russians cut
spending during the first six months of this year, the first time that has
happened since 2006 (iz.ru/1055271/ekaterina-vinogradova/korona-rubl-berezhet-rossiiane-rekordno-sokratili-raskhody-za-polgoda).
This decline in consumer spending may mean that one-fifth of all Russian
shopping centers will close before the end of this year (profile.ru/economy/torg-zdes-umesten-pandemiya-koronavirusa-postavila-rossijskie-tc-na-gran-vyzhivaniya-396704/).
Banks say that no fewer than ten to 20
percent of Russian firms face bankruptcy and many will not be able to pay the
taxes they owe (finanz.ru/novosti/aktsii/ne-menee-10-20percent-kompaniy-zhdut-bankrotstva-pravitelstvo-predupredili-o-nesposobnosti-biznesa-zaplatit-nalogi-1029559326).
The economic crisis has focused the
attention of some Russians on the fact that as a result of the Putin government’s
approach, the poor in that country pay significantly higher percentages of
their incomes than do those better off (krizis-kopilka.ru/archives/79686).
But sales of new cars are up, the result of pent-up demand during the lockdown
and increasing use of bank loans to pay for them (autonews.ru/news/5f44c4409a79473be6706ecf?from=column_11).
Meanwhile, in other pandemic-related
developments in Russia today,
·
Moscow
city officials say they spent some 300 billion rubles (4.1 billion US dollars)
in the fight against the coronavirus (regnum.ru/news/3053507.html).
·
As
of mid-September, Russian theaters will be able to offer 70 percent of their seats
to customers, up from 50 percent or less now (regnum.ru/news/3053371.html).
·
And
Moscow will also again be able to host congresses and exhibitions as long as
they follow sanitary rules (regnum.ru/news/3053560.html),
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