Moscow will enact a citywide quarantine starting Monday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said as the city’s number of coronavirus cases surpassed 1,000 over the weekend, The Moscow Times reports.
The self-isolation order will apply to all residents regardless of age.
According to the decree, Moscow residents will only be allowed to leave their homes for:
- Emergency medical care;
- Traveling to work if one is unable to work remotely;
- Going to the nearest grocery store or pharmacy;
- Walking pets within a 100-meter radius from their residence;
- Taking out the garbage.
People who leave their homes are ordered to maintain at least a 1.5-meter distance between themselves and other people.
“The extremely negative turn of events that we are seeing in the largest cities in Europe and the United States causes great concern for the life and health of our citizens,” Sobyanin wrote on his website.
Sobyanin stressed that there will be no restrictions on entering or leaving the city.
Russia’s capital has confirmed 1,014 cases of the coronavirus so far, making it the epicenter of the pandemic within the country. Last week, Sobyanin warned President Vladimir Putin that the number of cases in Russia could be much higher than official numbers suggest.
