We are in the middle of a global pandemic. The whole world seems to be at a stand still. In a lot of countries, international travel has been banned while its citizens are encouraged to social distance and stay at home. So what is the coronavirus pandemic like in Russia? Keep reading to learn about how they are dealing with it.
The Beginning
Initially, Russia responded with high intent after hearing about the coronavirus threat. With 4,209.3 km (2,615.5 mi) of border between Russia and China, they had no choice but to take the threat seriously. In late January, Russia closed 16 of its 25 border crossings with China.
As China was the original epicenter of the fight against the new pandemic, it was important to make sure these borders were covered. People coming home from travel were encouraged to self quarantine for 14 days, seeming like an international mandate.
Russia is the worlds largest country and most of its major cities (& population) lie on the Western border. Making it’s eastern border shared with China a little less worrisome. For comparison, Russia is almost 2 times the size of the United States.
Shut Down
Within a month, the pandemic grew larger, forcing the country to shut down its most populated cities. On March 30th, the most populated city in Russia, with almost 12 million residents was forced to shut down. Moscow had become the epicenter for the spreading of the disease in Russia.
After the announcement in the capital city, they began a shutdown mandate for more than 80 regions. So what does a shut down mean for Russia? Similarly to the United States, people were forced to stay in their homes except to leave for essential goods such as groceries.
Unlike America, much stricter guidelines were set in place. Citizens are only to walk pets within 110 yards of their homes and no outdoor exercise is allowed otherwise. On April 13, a law went in place forcing drivers to get a permit. Driving checkpoints were set up all around the county to enforce this and rule breakers were prosecuted.
The Exposure
So what’s the coronavirus pandemic like in Russia now? As of May 1, the number of new cases had reached the highest numbers yet, 7,933 new cases in one day. This brings the countries official count to 114,431. As such a populated country, Russia has struggled to have enough medical supplies, and even space, to meet the needs of the masses.
As the month continues, the numbers continue to get worse. 2% of people in the Moscow have tested positively for the disease. The health department warns that it’s quickly running out of intense care unit beds for those who need it.
According to The Moscow Times, “Russia is now the seventh most-affected country in terms of infections, having surpassed China, Turkey and Iran last week”. Though Russia started out being cautious of the disease, its massive population made it hard to control the spread, similar to many other countries. Though Russia has taken many procedures to stop the pandemic, it’s fast spread has caused many deaths around the country and the number of cases per day seems to be getting higher.
