Russia resists lockdown and pins hopes on vaccine
The ticket booths at Krylatskoye ice palace are shuttered, but the rink is full: not of speed skaters and hockey players, but rows of coronavirus patients. It’s one of five facilities in Moscow transformed into giant temporary hospitals that are now swinging into action as the number of new Covid cases reaches daily record highs. The Kremlin describes the rate of infection as “worrying” – close to 21,000 new cases were announced across Russia on Tuesday – and it admits that healthcare facilities in some regions are “overloaded”.
It is resisting a full, national lockdown, anxious to protect the economy and optimistic that Russia’s contender for a Covid-19 vaccine can help chart a way out of this crisis. But on Tuesday Moscow’s mayor announced new restrictions, including a 23:00 curfew on bars and restaurants, describing the coronavirus situation in the capital as “unstable”. The ice has gone for now, but the ice palace hospital is equipped with the latest digital technology and the chief doctor is insistently upbeat.(BBC)…[+]