Status: 4:35 p.m., October 30, 2021
Russia’s corona numbers have reached an all-time high. President Putin has ordered the country on mandatory vacation to stop the virus from spreading. Because only a third of the population is vaccinated. A week off has begun in Russia due to an increase in the number of coronavirus infections. President Vladimir Putin had previously announced that he would take the whole country on paid vacation from October 30th to November 7th. Most government and private sector organizations are affected. Many employees had to take a pandemic-related forced leave in Moscow the day before, which is particularly affected by the increasing number of infections. Only shops for daily needs such as pharmacies and supermarkets are allowed to open.
The government hopes the virus will spread less during non-working hours, as most people avoid going to work and using public transportation. However, many Russians seem to use the time leading up to the long winter season to take a warm-weather vacation. Package tours to Egypt and Turkey have seen an increase in bookings.
New infections at an all-time high
Corona numbers in Russia at all-time high The authorities recently recorded 40,251 new infections in a single day, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. A total of 1160 people died as a result of the coronavirus. The Kremlin cited epidemiologists ‘concerns about many Russians’ plans to travel during their vacation. According to surveys, around a third of the population wants to travel during their Corona vacation. The authorities attribute the current increase in corona cases to the country’s slow vaccination campaign. Only about 49 million Russians out of a total population of nearly 146 million are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Despite the fact that vaccinations have been free for months, it is only 32. According to government statistics, only 5% of the population are fully vaccinated.
Putin is pushing for vaccination certificates to be recognized. “Countries that need vaccines have no access to them because of G20 decisions,” Putin said in his speech, which was televised at the G20 summit in Rome. “The G20 countries in particular are not prepared for the mutual recognition of vaccines. “Protectionism and indecent competitive thinking” are the reasons for this.
The Russian President pointed out that the Sputnik-V vaccine developed in his country is not yet approved in most western countries. In return, Russia has not yet accepted any certificates for vaccination with a western preparation such as BioNTech / Pfizer. However, it was pointed out in German G20 delegation circles that Russia has a deep distrust of its own government, which seems to influence people’s willingness to be vaccinated with Sputnik V.
No EU approval for Sputnik V
Putin called on the G20 health ministers to discuss the mutagen. “We propose to mandate the health ministries of the G20 countries to deal with the question of the timely mutual recognition of national vaccination cards,” he said. He also called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to speed up the testing of new drugs.
The Kremlin has previously stated that it is ready to accept the recognition but that reciprocity is needed. After an interruption, the WHO has resumed testing for a possible emergency approval of Sputnik V. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not yet granted the Russian preparation an EU-wide approval, despite months of testing.
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