Moscow's mayor has effectively declared a public holiday for all of next week to combat a surge in Covid-19 cases. Sergei Sobyanin announced the decision today, saying it would not affect organisations that maintain the Russian capital's infrastructure, the military, and other strategically important enterprises.
Monday was already a public holiday, but now the mayor has told people to also stay off work for the rest of the week. "To stop the rising rate of sickness and to save lives, today I signed a decree providing for non-working days from 15 to 19 June 2021 with pay for employees," Mr Sobyanin said on his official blog.