Update – 09.04.2020

April 9, 2020

On Thursday (April 9^th), Russia recorded 1,459 new cases of coronavirus in 50 Russian regions, raising the official number of positive results to 10,131, with 76 dead. The majority of new COVID-19 cases (857) were registered in Moscow, bringing the total number of Muscovites with confirmed COVID-19 to 6,698. In the meantime, a total of 698 Russian patients are known to have recovered from coronavirus. To date, the authorities of 81 out of 85 Russian regions have introduced a self-isolation policy.

Over a million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Russia, the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing said in a statement on Thursday (April 9^th). According to the watchdog, 171,000 people suspected of having the coronavirus remain under medical observation in Russia.

On Wednesday (April 8^th), the Russian clinical network “Bud zdorov” (“Be Healthy”), a subsidiary of the major Ingosstrakh insurance company, released a test for COVID-19 which users can administer at home. Only clinically healthy adults and children without acute respiratory symptoms will be eligible to take the test, Ingosstrakh representatives said. Any positive tests will be rerun with the assistance of Russia’s federal public health agency, and the entire process is scheduled to take two days for any given test. The cost of each test will be 6,000 rubles (about $80).

As noted in the previous newsletter, starting from March 27^th, Moscow enacted a citywide quarantine: now those living in Moscow can leave home to go to work (if they are required to), make purchases in the nearby food store or pharmacy, walk the dog (within 100 meters of their door), take out trash, go to hospital or get urgent medical care. The self-isolation order is applied to all residents regardless of age. Libraries, theaters, recreational centres, gyms, nightclubs and all shops (except for pharmacies and grocery stores) are closed.

The Association of Russian Tour Operators (ATOR) has developed a set of measures to support the travel industry amid the coronavirus pandemic. Among ATOR proposals, is the freezing of payments to tourists for canceled tours until 2022. The Association outlined its ideas in a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, noting that the losses of Russian tour operators can increase up to hundreds of billions of rubles.

Russian tour operators announced early bookings for fall-winter 2021. PEGAS is promoting Thailand and Vietnam. ANEX Tour focuses on winter in Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Sri Lanka. TUI Russia made offers across its entire product line. INTOURIST also attracted the attention of travel agencies to its offers. Market experts explain the increased activity of suppliers, owing to the desire to keep their own companies afloat and not to drop the flow of bookings to zero. So far, it is hard to predict the level of demand for these proposals, especially given the complete lack of clarity on refunds for canceled tours procedures.

According to a survey conducted by GfK, the German sociological and marketing research company, 49% of respondents in Russia hope for the epidemic to be over by June. 32% are afraid of being unemployed, 56% expect their financial status to worsen in the following 12 months, 20% reported that they had already faced a change in salary due to the epidemic (reduction, delay, unpaid leave, dismissal) and 24% are very worried about the crisis in the company in which they work. The coronavirus epidemic is among the top 5 problems that Russians are currently concerned about.

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