Covid: A partial lockdown has been imposed on Moscow’s stores and restaurants.

As Russia prepares for a record-breaking year, Covid deaths and infections, shops, restaurants, and schools in Moscow have been closed in a partial lockdown.

Only essential stores such as supermarkets and pharmacies are permitted to open in the capital, with food outlets limited to take-out only.

In an effort to reduce the spread of illnesses, authorities have offered workers across Russia nine days off starting Saturday. In the last 24 hours, Russia has recorded a total of 1,159 deaths due to Covid.

In addition, the official data shows 40,096 new infections in 85 Russian regions, which is a new high. The latest big shutdown in Russia occurred in May-June 2020. The official mortality toll from the Covid epidemic in Russia is around 230,000, making it the largest in Europe and one of the greatest in the world. However, the Russian Covid death toll was estimated to be over 400,000 in October by the state statistics agency Rosstat, significantly higher than the government data.

According to Our World in Data, the proportion of Russia’s population who has been properly vaccinated remains low, at 32.8 percent on October 23. The rates in most European countries are significantly higher. Despite a massive official immunisation campaign, many Russians are sceptical of the Sputnik V vaccine, which is widely recognised as a potent Covid defence.

Many Russians have decided to go on vacation between October 30 and November 9 due to the partial lockdown. Egyptian resort hotels are reported to be fully booked, and Russian flights to Egypt are sold out. Egypt is a popular tourist destination for Russians. According to the Russian news agency Vesti, some panic buying has occurred as a result of the new limits. The principal market in Orenburg, a city in the Urals east of Moscow, has seen a rush on meat and fish.