Update – 10.07.2020

July 10, 2020

On Thursday, July 10^th, Russia recorded 6,635 new coronavirus cases in 85 Russian regions, raising the official number of positive results to 713,936, with 11,017 dead. Most new COVID-19 cases (637) were registered in Moscow, raising the total number of Muscovites with confirmed COVID-19 to 228,000. In the meantime, a total number of 489,068 Russian patients are known to have recovered from coronavirus. Russia is the 4^th most-affected country in the world in terms of confirmed cases, after the USA, Brazil and India.

On Tuesday, July 7^th, The Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing reported: «More than 21.5 million tests for the detection of coronavirus infection have been carried out in Russia; 272 thousand people are under medical supervision because of suspected COVID-19 in the Russian Federation».

On Thursday June 9^th, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that wearing masks will no longer be required outdoors as of July 13^th, as the number of new coronavirus cases has dwindled in the Russian capital in recent weeks. Masks are still required in stores, on public transport, in medical facilities and other public places, he added. As from Monday, restrictions will also be lifted for businesses, schools, universities and children’s camps, as well as amusement parks and cultural centers. The mayor announced that cinemas, theatres and concert halls with less than 3,000 seats will reopen in Moscow on August 1^st. They will be required to seat audiences at no more than half capacity. Attendance at sporting events will also be bumped from 10% to 50% from August 1^st.

The Coronavirus Operational Headquarters supported the proposal of the Ministry of Transport, Federal Air Transport Agency and Aeroflot to resume international flights in two stages. By July 13^th, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation must evaluate the readiness of Russian airports to serve international flights in conditions of growing passenger traffic. The Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) proposed a list of countries to which flights from Russia can be conducted in the first stage. The list includes the United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Finland, as well as Vietnam, China, Mongolia and Sri Lanka. According to Rospotrebnadzor, these countries fully comply with the criteria for assessing the epidemic situation that the department itself has developed.

As reported by Biletix OTA, the demand for airline tickets in Russia has started to recover. The survey held by the company showed that the volume of sales of round-trip (RT) tickets from the beginning of May until the end of June had recovered from 4.3% to 79.8% of last year’s numbers. More specifically, the average RT bill in Russia in June was almost three times lower than the same period last year, amounting to 3,736 rubles (52 USD) in 2020 against 11,406 rubles (160 USD) in 2019. However, for August there is only an18% difference compared to last year’s numbers- 13 690 rubles (190 USD) against 16 610 rubles (230 USD).

On Friday, July 10^th, Kazakhstan recorded 1726 new coronavirus cases, raising the official number of positive cases to 54,747, with 264 dead. Vice Minister of Finance Berik Sholpankulov outlined the total amount of money allocated to the fight against coronavirus in Kazakhstan: «Up until July 8^th, 191.9 billion tenge has been allocated from the republican budget to fight the pandemic, which is equivalent to more than 466.5 million US dollars».

From July 5^th, two cities of the East Kazakhstan region were closed for entry and exit – Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semey. This was announced on the Instagram page of Danial Akhmetov, the Akim of the East Kazakhstan region. However, local enterprises, grocery stores, pharmacies and banks will continue their operations.

On Friday, July 10^th, Ukraine recorded 819 new coronavirus cases, raising the official number of positive results to 52,043, with 1345 dead. The incidences of coronavirus in Ukraine amounts to 62.4 people per 100 000 people, the press service of the office of President Vladimir Zelensky said on Tuesday at a meeting to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Ukrainian Minister of Health Maxim Stepanov said that Ukraine intends to be one of the first to purchase a vaccine against coronavirus, specifically from the AstraZeneca pharmaceutical company. Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said that quarantine will remain in force in selected regions of the country until a treatment protocol or a coronavirus vaccine is found.

Ukraine’s economy has shown a 10% drop in the second quarter of this year (compared to the same period last year) due to quarantine restrictions. Experts admit that the good results of the Ukrainian agricultural sector, which has already begun to harvest, can mitigate the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, but emphasize that consumer demand and investment activity will decrease by the end of 2020.

On July 13^th, Air France resumes regular flights to Ukraine. Paris-Kiev flights will be conducted on Tuesdays and Fridays. Starting August 24^th, Air France plans to increase the frequency of flights to three per week. Additionally, the airline provides passengers with the opportunity to transfer onto other flights at Paris airport. However, before buying tickets, passengers must consider possible restrictions on transit routes to other countries.

On July 6^th, Dalaman, Turkey, welcomed the first charter flight with tourists from Ukraine. The Azur Air plane with 189 seats was filled to maximum capacity. “At the moment, tourists from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Ukraine are flying to us. Until July 15^th, Azur Air planes will fly from Kiev to Dalaman 4 times a week, and after July15^th, flights will become daily”, said Mr. Akhmedzoda, representative of the Dalaman airport.

Sources:

https://t.me/COVID2019_official