Update – 15.10.2020

October 15, 2020

On Thursday, October 15^th, Russia recorded 13,754 new cases of coronavirus in 85 Russian regions, raising the official number of positive results to 1,354,163, with 23,491 fatalities. Most of the new COVID-19 cases (3,942) were registered in Moscow, raising the total number of Muscovites with confirmed COVID-19 to 347,946. In the meantime, a total number of 1,048,097 Russian patients are known to have recovered from the virus. In Russia this week, the number of cases increased by 25% in comparison to last week. Tests of the Russian “Sputnik V” vaccine have been successful, with over 12 thousand Russians already vaccinated.

Since May 2020, almost 96,000 individuals have been fined in Moscow for non-compliance with mask and glove-wearing requirements on public transport.

A special Security Council commission will be formed to create a nationwide system for preventing the spread of infectious diseases. The commission will be headed by former Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev.

Since October 5^th, Moscow companies have been required to transfer 30% of their employees to work remotely until October 28^th, due to the city’s coronavirus situation. Workers over the age of 65, and those suffering from chronic diseases, will also be required to work remotely. Medical institutions, defense agencies, Rosatom and Roscosmos are exempt from the new rules.

Russian authorities have announced the resumption of flights to Serbia, Cuba and Japan. Air traffic with Japan will resume on November 1^st. The date for the resumption of flights to Serbia and Cuba has not yet been determined. Additionally, the number of flights to Switzerland, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives will be increased.

Since October 9^th, the Russian Aviation authority (Rosaviatsiya) has permitted international flights from four Russian cities – Samara, Vladivostok, Grozny and Krasnoyarsk. Previously, flights were allowed from Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, Kaliningrad and Novosibirsk only. The list of destinations which have opened for Russians include London, Zanzibar, Geneva, Dubai, Cairo, Maldives, Seoul, Minsk, Bishkek, Nur-Sultan and several Turkish resorts.

Russian airlines have reported an overall 47% decrease in flights for January-September 2020, in comparison with the same period in 2019. In September, the decrease reached 32.5%. The top three airlines in terms of passenger flow in September include S7, Aeroflot and Pobeda.

On Thursday, October 15^th, Kazakhstan recorded 110 new cases of coronavirus, raising the official number of positive cases to 109,094, with 1,768 fatalities.

The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry and the Ministry of Health presented a new mobile application «Saqbol» to control the spread of coronavirus infection. The app allows a person with a positive COVID-19 test to anonymously alert other app users about contact with him within the last 14 days at a distance of less than two meters and for more than 15 minutes, by activating the notification function. The storage of records of interactions with other devices will also be encrypted.

On Thursday, October 15^th, Ukraine recorded 5,062 new cases of coronavirus, raising the official number of positive cases to 281,239, with 5,302 fatalities.

The Ukrainian government has extended the quarantine restrictions imposed in the country due to coronavirus until December 31^st, 2020. The authorities also announced a number of additional measures: sports events, with the exception of international events, can be held without the general public, it has been recommended that secondary educational institutions take vacation from October 15^th to 30^th, and institutions of higher and vocational technical education have been asked to switch to online education from October 15^th to November 15^th.

The UIA has announced an updated flight schedule for the 2020/2021 winter season, to implemented from October 25^th. The updated schedule will include 23 international and three domestic routes: Amsterdam, London, Paris, Brussels, Milan, Dubai, Cairo, Dusseldorf, Munich, Geneva, Tbilisi, Baku, Yerevan, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Prague and Barcelona, among others.

The Ministry of Health has indicated that the UAE is back on the COVID-19 green list of countries. To enter the UAE, tourists will still have to provide a certificate of a negative result for coronavirus, but do not have to self-isolate or re-take the PCR test upon returning home.

Sources:

https://tass.ru/moskva/9700357