In Russia, federal restrictions will still be introduced due to the increase in morbidity and mortality from coronavirus. According to Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, the headquarters will offer the president to establish a non-working day regime throughout the country from October 30 to November 7, and in regions where the situation is especially difficult, from October 23.
Any events and institutions, which during this period are allowed to work by the governors, can be visited only with a QR code. Against this background, Vladimir Putin decided not to go to Rome for the G20; he will take part in the summit events via video link.
Dmitry Peskov recently called such a scenario “extremely undesirable” both on a national scale and in individual regions. However, it will probably not be possible to do without tough decisions.
On Tuesday, speaking at a meeting of the Coordination Council for the fight against coronavirus, Tatyana Golikova said that officials plan to appeal to Vladimir Putin with a request to introduce another non-working day regime in Russia, which will help break the chains of infections. At the federal level, it will last from October 30 to November 7 inclusive. And on the regional – where the health care system is choking with the influx of patients – it can begin as early as Saturday, October 23rd.
The president is expected to announce his verdict on Wednesday, October 20, when he is scheduled to meet with government officials. With 99.9% confidence, it can be argued that the president’s response will be positive, although Dmitry Peskov says that “the decision has not yet been made.” At the same time, it has already been announced that Putin will not go to Rome for the G20 summit, which will be held at the end of October: the Kremlin previously linked the possibility of full-time participation of the GDP in this event with the development of the epidemiological situation.
Golikova clarified that the non-working day regime will provide for “the simultaneous introduction of the admission of vaccinated and ill citizens to public events and individual objects only if there is a QR code.” What these “separate objects” are, in each region will be determined by the governors.
However, judging by the words of Mikhail Mishustin, who promised to provide support to businesses affected by the closures, there will not be much choice anywhere. “After November 7, we offer the regions to carefully open those industries and facilities that will be closed. By the word “carefully” I mean QR codes for visiting these places in order to prevent the spread of infection, ”Golikova said.
For elderly Russians, who, according to officials, make up the main contingent of both sick and hard-covid patients, additional restrictions are being introduced. Non-working and unvaccinated pensioners, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, should take to the streets “only in case of emergency.” And those who work – go to a four-week remote station, from which it will be possible to return only after a full course of vaccination and receiving a QR code. “These decisions are not easy, complicated, I would say forced, necessary. But the number of cases is growing, and it is necessary to contain the spread of a dangerous infection, “Mishustin supported Golikova.
The need for tough measures in the government is explained by the insufficient level of vaccination of the population. Instead of the 80% promised to the president, taking into account those who have been ill, the immune layer today is just over 45%. “And this level does not allow to significantly influence mortality rates,” Golikova emphasized.
In turn, the head of the Ministry of Health, Mikhail Murashko, blames the low rates of vaccination not only for the high mortality rate (more than 1000 people in recent days), but also for the record increase in the number of cases. “First of all, of course, this is a problem associated with the number of vaccinated patients, because the bulk of all sick people are people who have not been vaccinated in a timely manner,” the minister said.
He noted that among the sick there are many young people, children (and 50% with severe clinical manifestations) and pregnant women. However, the Ministry of Health still does not have a clear explanation of why the incidence rate with herd immunity of 45% turned out to be much higher than last year’s, when only a few units were vaccinated.
The delta strain has already covered Russia in the summer, but then such indicators of morbidity and mortality, as now, were not achieved. Golikova hinted that in some regions seriously ill people are deprived of highly effective therapy with expensive drugs, since the authorities do not buy them for reasons of economy. “We propose to provide for the possibility of centralized procurement of certain expensive drugs for the provision of medical care in the hospital,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
