Putin orders Russians to stop work for a week amid record Covid daily deaths

Russians have been told to take a paid week off work in order to try to combat the Covid-19 crisis in the country, as the number of daily deaths from the virus hit its highest level since the start of the pandemic.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin announced that, “in order to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and to protect public health, the President has announced that October 30 to November 7, 2021, inclusive, will be paid non-working days.”

The Kremlin said it recommended that the measure be implemented across Russia. To date, the country’s separate regions have largely been in control of designating their own Covid rules and restrictions throughout the public health crisis. 

At a meeting with the government Wednesday, Putin told officials: “We know that, unfortunately, this problem is also escalating, and that it is impossible to overlook it.” He announced that he supports the proposal for a week of paid, non-working days from Oct. 30, and for this to start earlier in regions particularly badly hit by Covid cases.

The move comes as Russia, which has been one of the hardest hit countries by Covid, battles a rising Covid death toll. On Thursday, it reported a record high 36,339 new infections and 1,036 fatalities. To date, there have been 227,389 Covid deaths in Russia and it has recorded over 8.1 million infections.

Russia’s daily cases and death tolls have been creeping up for weeks now, largely because a significant proportion of the population remains unvaccinated. Covid vaccines are proven to greatly reduce the risk of severe infection, hospitalization and death.

On Wednesday, Putin once again implored Russian citizens to take up the vaccine, stating that: “we are seeing the dangerous consequences of the low vaccination levels in our country. I repeat once again: vaccination really reduces the risks of severe illness or serious complications after, and the threat of death … I also once again urge all citizens to get vaccinated. This is about protecting yourself, about your safety, even your life, your relatives’ health.”

There are also concerns about waning immunity in those who are fully vaccinated, as clinical data shows immunity provided by Covid vaccines wanes after around six months).

Another worry is the discovery of a mutation of the delta variant — currently the dominant strain worldwide — that is being identified in increasing numbers in the U.K., which is also seeing a dramatic spike in cases. Although the mutation has been found in Russia, it’s too early to tell if it is having an impact on rising infection numbers.

Read more: The delta variant has a mutation that’s worrying experts: Here’s what we know so far