Putin orders Russian workers to stay home for week to stem Covid surge

Moscow, Oct 20 (EFE).- Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered workers across the country to stay home for a week as coronavirus cases hit one record high after another.

Workers will continue to be paid their wages during the work-free period, from October 30 to November 7, which can be extended in regions where the situation is worse.

“Right now it is particularly important to subdue the peak of a new wave of the pandemic,” Putin said after he backed a proposal put forward by deputy prime minister Tatyana Golikova during a televised cabinet meeting.

The Russian leader also called on citizens to get vaccinated and urged them to stick to the self-isolation rules in case of infection.

“Dear friends, if somebody got sick in your family, you also need to obtain medical leave and remain at home even if you have tons of things to do,” Putin told the Russian people.

On Wednesday, Russia registered another daily record of Covid-19 deaths of 1,028 within 24 hours, with more than 34,073 new cases across Russia’s 85 regions.

Russia has seen more than 8 million coronavirus infections and 225,353 related deaths since the pandemic’s outset.

So far, only 47.2 million people of  Russia’s 145 million population have been fully inoculated, according to official figures.EFE

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