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Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the end of a partial economic shutdown in Russia due to the coronavirus pandemic, but said many restrictions will remain.
In a televised address to the nation, Putin said Monday (New Zealand time Tuesday) that it will be up to regional governors in the remote country to determine which industrial plants could reopen, starting Tuesday. He stressed that preserving jobs and keeping the economy running is essential, provided workers strictly adhere to health standards.
“The national non-labor regime is coming to an end,” Putin said grimly. “Slowly, and very carefully, we are beginning to ease the restrictions.”
AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to reopen the nation.
Putin also said regional authorities should consider allowing people to walk and exercise wherever and whenever possible. He stressed that all mass gatherings will continue to be banned, noting that it is essential that all Russians over 65 or with chronic illnesses continue to stay at home.
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Since the outbreak began, Putin has given Russian regions broad authority to determine their own coronavirus strategies, arguing that the situation in various locations differs widely. Critics of the Kremlin have described that policy as an attempt to shift responsibility for the large number of infections and the economic damage caused by the outbreak.
Putin had ordered the economic shutdown in late March, although key industrial plants and some other sectors were allowed to continue operating. Most Russians were ordered to stay home, except for purchases at nearby stores and pharmacies and visits to doctors.
Putin’s decision to ease the restrictions comes when Russia recorded a daily record of more than 11,600 new infections in the past 24 hours, more than half of them in Moscow. That has brought the national total to more than 221,000 cases, the fourth highest in the world after the United States, Spain and Great Britain, including around 2,000 deaths.
Some observers say that official statistics reflect only a fraction of the actual numbers, noting that the actual number of deaths could be significantly higher. Unlike the United States, Italy, and some other countries, the Russian totals do not include some of the deaths of those who tested positive for the coronavirus. People with chronic diseases who died are counted separately, even if they had the virus.
Doctors across Russia have also denounced the shortage of questionable protective equipment and infection control procedures in hospitals, and hundreds of medical workers have become infected.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said last week that up to 2.5 percent of the capital’s 12.7 million residents, or about 300,000 people, could have been infected.
AP
Women with face masks in Saint Petersburg to protect themselves against the coronavirus as Russia experiences an increase in cases.
Sobyanin and other Russian officials have argued that the higher number of cases reflects broader evidence, noting that almost half of those infected have mild or no symptoms. They argued that the blockade has helped prevent an increase in the number of critically ill and has thus far prevented hospitals from being overwhelmed.
Putin said in recent weeks that Russia has increased the capacity of hospitals treating coronavirus patients from 29,000 to 130,000 and has a sufficient supply of ventilators.
He said the number of tests performed daily will increase from 170,000 to 300,000 in mid-May.
Regarding the lifting of restrictions, he argued that “a single pattern cannot be applied, since in some regions certain actions can generate risks, while in others they can give rise to unjustified restrictions.”
AP
Vladimir Putin addressed the nation through a video conference on Monday.
“I repeat, lifting the restrictions will not come quickly,” Putin added. “We must not allow a setback, a new wave of epidemic and an increase in severe cases.”
Moscow has taken the lead in allowing all its industrial plants and construction sites to resume work, starting Tuesday, and Putin said other regions may want to do the same. Still closed in the capital are hairdressers, car dealers, non-grocery stores, and most other service sector companies. But in some of Russia’s provinces, some of those businesses have already been allowed to reopen.
Putin emphasized that the restrictions should be gradually lifted to avoid triggering a new wave of contagion.
He said he fully understands the public’s desire to return to normal life, but cautioned that caution is essential.
“I realize that you are running out of patience to observe restrictions, but getting infected is much worse than that,” he said.
A large part of his speech was devoted to describing new measures to soften the devastating economic impact of the outbreak. Putin, who has faced criticism for not offering tangible help to the population, as well as to small and medium-sized companies affected by the health crisis, announced a package of new support measures.
He said unemployment has doubled to 1.4 million, and said the government will subsidize the loans to encourage companies to keep as many employees as possible. It also announced business tax breaks and several additional payments to families with children and to other categories of the population.
