Russia's Zabaykalsky Territory To Introduce General Quarantine Over COVID-19 - Local Gov't

The authorities of Russia's Zabaykalsky Territory plan to follow Moscow's lead and introduce their own mandatory quarantine across the region as a measure against the spread of the coronavirus, Andrei Gurulyov, the acting deputy prime minister of the local government, told reporters on Monday

CHITA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2020) The authorities of Russia's Zabaykalsky Territory plan to follow Moscow's lead and introduce their own mandatory quarantine across the region as a measure against the spread of the coronavirus, Andrei Gurulyov, the acting deputy prime minister of the local government, told reporters on Monday.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced on Sunday that all Muscovites irrespective of age must not leave their homes unless for exceptional reasons starting from Monday. Residents will only be able to leave home to seek emergency medical assistance or in case of other life-threatening circumstances; to go to work, the nearest grocery store or pharmacy; walk a pet no farther than 100 meters (330 feet) from home; and take out the trash.

"From 20:00 [17:00 GMT] yesterday, Moscow introduced a complete self-isolation. We are currently preparing similar documents ... Nevertheless, we believe that general isolation will allow us to minimize the possibility of infecting our� Zabaykalsky people with the coronavirus," Gurulyov said.

The official noted that the draft resolution would be submitted to the governor by the evening of March 30. To date, there are no patients with the coronavirus in the region, but 627 people are in quarantine.

So far, Russia has registered a total of 1,534 confirmed COVID-19 cases and eight fatalities.