Correspondent Iris de Graaf:
“The law came into effect today, but it is not yet clear how concrete it will look in practice and whether more exceptions will apply. In any case, it means that the rules will soon be clear to everyone; If not, you will be expelled from the country.
Everyone has to pay for the tests themselves and for that we have to go to the Sakharov medical center in Moscow, two hours outside the city. And there are often long lines. It feels to all of us as if we foreigners are bringing diseases with us, while HIV and tuberculosis are a major problem, especially in Russia itself.
It also feels intimidating that the authorities know everything about people’s medical conditions. There is also concern about the psychological conversation because the authorities are expected to say fairly easily that you are not okay.
And for the quarterly X-ray is fear because it is harmful to health. American journalists are even talking about attempted murder.”
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