Russians Suspect New Covid Restrictions Reflect Election’s End Rather than Increase in Infections

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 28 – Some Russians suspect that officials are introducing new covid restrictions now that the election campaign is over rather than in response to increases in infections and deaths, and many think that new limitations are likely now that the regime doesn’t have to worry as much about the reaction of voters (regnum.ru/news/3383314.html, business-gazeta.ru/article/523785  and meduza.io/feature/2021/09/28/pered-priemnym-otdeleniem-opyat-ocheredi-iz-skoryh).

            They may be right, but it is certainly the case that the new figures provide sufficient justification. Today, Russian officials reported registering 852 deaths, the highest daily toll since the pandemic began. They also said they had registered 21,559 new cases of infection over the last 24 hours as the pandemic continued to intensify (t.me/stopcoronavirusrussia/5982 and regnum.ru/news/society/3379238.html).

            Schools continued to go over to distance learning in many localities. In two regions, Udmurtia and Perm Kray, QR codes were introduced for access to public buildings and stores; and in Saratov and Kursk oblasts, more draconian restrictions than ever before were introduced today (rbc.ru/society/28/09/2021/615321b19a7947ae53aab67a).

            Medical experts said that the growing death toll from the coronavirus underscores that Moscow has failed in its fight against the pandemic, largely because of insufficient supplies of medication, popular resistance, and the failure of the federal authorities to mandate vaccinations (snob.ru/entry/237880/).

            The Russian government continues to invest in the development of new vaccines in the hopes that one or more of them will lead more people to get the shots (stoletie.ru/lenta/v_rossii_nachinajutsa_klinicheskije_ispytanija_novoj_vakciny_ot_covid-19_116.htm).

            This money is part of the one trillion rubles (15 billion US dollars) the Russian government has spent since the start of 2021 on fighting the pandemic. Individual regions have put in additional money as well with those having strong economies putting in more than those with weak ones (regnum.ru/news/3383237.html and regnum.ru/news/3383366.html).

            Some Russians are angry that major pharmaceutical companies having profited so much from the sale of vaccines against covid are now adding to their bottom line by new profits for the production of vaccines against the ordinary flu (iarex.ru/articles/82688.html).

            Meanwhile, in other pandemic-related developments in Russia today,

·         Hong Kong has announced that it accepts the Russian vaccine as safe and effective (regnum.ru/news/3383642.html).

·         Moscow city set a record for covid hospitalizations today despite an apparent easing of the number of new infections (regnum.ru/news/3383248.html).

·         A Russian epidemiologist says that Russia already had achieved the necessary level of collective immunity but that “this level is unstable and without revaccinations, defense against COVID-19 will quickly be lost” (regnum.ru/news/3382804.html).