Russia Shuts State Hotels, Resorts As Coronavirus Cases Rise Past 1,000
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russia ordered its vast network of state-run hotels, resorts and recreational facilities to shut down from March 28 until June 1, as its number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose past 1,000.
The official tally of confirmed cases jumped by a record daily amount for the third day in a row on Friday, bringing Russia's total to 1,036 a day after it moved to suspend all international flights. Four people have died.
Russia's mass domestic tourism and recreation sector is still dominated by the state, a legacy from Soviet times. Millions of Russians still holiday each year at vast state-run hotels, resorts, health spas and children's camps.
President Vladimir Putin has declared next week a non-working week, and Moscow, the country's worst-affected area, will this weekend close all cafes, restaurants and shops apart from those selling food and medicine, until April 5. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia remains much lower than in many European countries, but the mayor of Moscow told Putin on Tuesday that the real scale of the problem in the capital far exceeded official figures.
Putin said on Thursday he hoped Russia would defeat coronavirus in 2-3 months if it imposed tough measures quickly, Reuters reported.
On Friday, Putin signed legislation allowing the government to intervene to regulate some retail and wholesale medicine prices.
