|
 Moscow's nearly 13 million residents are now free to go outside when
they want, use public transport, and travel across the city in their
own vehicles without any restrictions or digital passes.
"We're free now, you can walk around as long as you wear a mask,"
said Pavel, a pensioner, who was doing some morning exercise without
a mask.
"We'll need to be careful, we will be careful."
Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow's mayor, announced the easing on Monday,
saying the pandemic was receding in the city and that he would start
rolling back restrictions on Tuesday with others due to be removed
later this month.
Anti-Kremlin critics have questioned the wisdom of Sobyanin's
decision, accusing him of rushing the lockdown lifting in order to
pave the way for a Red Square military parade later this month and a
July 1 nationwide vote that could extend President Vladimir Putin's
rule until 2036.
Sobyanin has said his decision was motivated purely by the fact that
coronavirus numbers in the capital had steadily fallen in recent
weeks, Muscovites' responsible behaviour, and by the fact that the
strain on the city's health system has eased.
[to top of second column] |
Most commuters were wearing masks on Moscow's sprawling metro system
on Tuesday, which was still less busy than it was prior to the
outbreak.
Authorities said on Tuesday they had recorded 8,595 new nationwide
cases in the last 24 hours, pushing Russia's tally to 485,253, the
third highest in the world. The country has recorded 6,142 deaths
from the virus.
Moscow itself reported 1,572 new virus cases on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov, Shamil Zhumatov and Gennady Novik;
Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
