Moscow mayor says virus situation in capital stabilizing

MOSCOW

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Thursday the situation with coronavirus in Russia's capital is stabilizing.

The number of new cases remains high, but it has been slowly decreasing, Sobyanin said in his blog.

He explained the improvements by more active vaccination -- about 100,000 residents of Moscow get immunized daily -- and better adherence to the epidemiological measure, including properly wearing masks and keeping social distance.

So the Moscow authorities decided to refrain from introducing new restrictive measures and even allowed the work of some outdoor facilities such as the Moscow Zoo and sports grounds, while restaurants and cafes can serve the visitors without QR codes at summer terraces.

According to Russia's coronavirus emergency task force, 24,818 new cases were reported in the country over the last 24 hours, taking the overall count to 5.7 million and active cases to 423,422.

Over the same period, 734 people died, raising the death toll to 140,775 and 21,336 convalesced, bringing recoveries to 5.14 million.

Almost half of all active cases are in Moscow -- 180,663 people are being treated for COVID-19 in the city.

Over the past day, 6,040 new infections, 109 fatalities, and 6,805 recoveries were registered in the Russian capital.

In June, officials in several Russian regions, including Moscow and its surrounding Moscow Oblast, ordered mandatory vaccination of several categories of employees, introducing penalties for non-compliance.

Additional measures were announced in the capital Moscow, including restrictions for visiting eateries, entertainment, and sports venues.

More measures were introduced in Moscow in July to stem the rise, including mandatory isolation and PCR tests for people suffering from flu-like symptoms to break the chain of infection.

Officials are preparing reserve capabilities for COVID-19 patients to prevent any crises in the healthcare system, however, a lockdown is seen as the last resort, and will be introduced only if other efforts do not work.