Moscow Cracks Down on Mask Avoiders as Covid-19 Cases Rise

(Bloomberg) --

Moscow has begun to enforce its rules on wearing masks more vigorously amid an uptick of new coronavirus cases over the last three weeks.

Police this week started issuing 5,000 ruble ($68) fines to metro passengers in the Russian capital for failing to wear protection, state-run Tass news service reported, citing an unidentified person in law enforcement. Stores also have begun demanding customers wear masks after city hall stepped up inspections.

Moscow has had a mandatory mask policy in place since May 12, when it began easing a lockdown aimed at stemming the spread of the epidemic. While the rules on masks were relaxed on July 13, they remained compulsory on public transport, in medical centers and in shops. However, the requirements are widely flouted, with restaurants and shops full and few locals bothering to wear protection in public.

“The requirements for businesses to comply with protection measures weren't canceled,” city hall spokeswoman Gulnara Penkova said Tuesday. Moscow continues to enforce the mask regime, she said.

The city is the epicenter of coronavirus infections in Russia, with 28% of the country's total. The number of new daily cases in Moscow has steadily increased since a July 16 low of 531, and 691 new cases were reported Tuesday.

City hall has issued over 300 million rubles in fines to stores for violations of the mask policy, Tass reported last week, citing the head of Moscow's trade department Alexei Nemeryuk.

The fines are coming as Moscow is preparing to open schools on Sept. 1. The capital has already returned to pre-pandemic levels of activity, according to a self-isolation index based on location data gathered by internet company Yandex.

Russia has the world's fourth-highest number of coronavirus infections, at nearly 855,000, while the recorded death toll of 14,183 is much lower than that in other large countries. The situation in the country is stabilizing, though “there are no grounds for complacency,” President Vladimir Putin told officials at a July 29 meeting on preparing the health-care system for the autumn and winter.

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