Vladimir Putin wants coronavirus restrictions lifted for vote

Vladimir Putin says Russia should lift restrictions as quickly as possible, despite warnings coronavirus infections are rising.

Russian security forces patrol Moscow’s Red Square at the weekend. Picture: Reuters

President Vladimir Putin said Russia should lift its COVID-19 restrictions as quickly as possible, despite warnings that corona­virus infections were continuing to rise across the country.

Mr Putin said officials should “consciously and calmly” move ahead with a return to normal life as in Iran President Hassan Rouhani blamed his country’s rise in new infections on a wedding celebration and urged the country to avoid public gatherings.

Iran recorded more than 3500 infections in one day last week, a higher daily figure than at any time during the peak of the first wave in early April. Mr Rouhani, however, insists that Iran must continue with lifting its lockdown.

“We have no other choice. We have to work, our factories have to be active, our shops have to be open, and there has to be movement in the country as far as it is necessary,” he said.

Mr Putin said that officials should “consciously and calmly” move ahead with a return to normal life. His comments came after Moscow, which has been hit hard, allowed parks and non-essential shops to reopen last week after a two-month lockdown.

Opposition figures say the Kremlin wants to lift curbs before a rescheduled Victory Day parade in Red Square on June 24 and a nationwide plebiscite on July 1 on constitutional reforms that could keep Mr Putin, 67, in power until 2036.

The Kremlin hopes to use the Russia Day national holiday on Friday as a celebration of its corona­virus efforts. Russians who have recovered will hand out badges with the words “We defeated coronavirus!” on them, the Meduza news website reported.

Although new cases are falling steadily in Moscow and St Petersburg, the two biggest cities, official statistics indicated a record spike across other regions last week, ­analysts said.

Sergei Sobyanin, 61, the mayor of Moscow and the man in charge of Russia’s COVID-19 operations, said he hoped that most restrictions would be scrapped before the July 1 vote. Mr Sobyanin, who has often appeared to contradict Mr Putin during the pandemic, warned that some measures would remain in place until a vaccine was found. He said that this could happen as early as October.

Russia has confirmed 467,673 coronavirus cases and 5859 deaths. Critics say the real toll is much higher and accuse officials of a cover-up. Under Moscow’s much-mocked “regime of strolls”, residents can leave the house for leisurely walks three times a week. Sport is permitted before 9am. Under a decree by Mr Sobyanin, masks have to be worn outside at all times. The order has been widely ignored.

Iran began lifting restrictions in late April, as the first peak of infections began to subside.

Most small businesses, government services, schools and mosques are open with social-­distancing measures. Universities reopened at the weekend, and nurseries and Koran courses will restart this week. Cinemas and concert halls will reopen at 50 per cent capacity on June 21.

The government is desperate to limit the effect of the shutdown on the economy, which was already suffering from US sanctions and a collapse to its currency.

The pandemic is thought to have cost up to $US30bn.

Mr Rouhani said: “The corona­virus epidemic will last for a long time; we do not know when it will end and we have to carefully observe safety protocols.”

He did not specify where the wedding party was held but the new infections are in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, where there have been 13,000 confirmed cases and almost 600 deaths.

The region borders Iraq, which reported a record number of 1006 new cases in one day last week.

The southern Iranian region of Sistan-Baluchistan, bordering ­Afghanistan and Pakistan, also had a rise in cases.

Iran has suffered the worst outbreak in the region, with more than 170,000 known cases and 8291 deaths.

The Times