Russia has extended the ban on mass gatherings, including schools and extracurricular clubs, until Jan. 1, 2022.
A ban on mass gatherings at Russian schools was first imposed in June to curb the spread of the coronavirus and was set to expire on Jan. 1, 2021.
However, a new decree published Monday, Dec 7, and signed by Russia’s chief sanitary doctor, Anna Popova, extends the ban and now also applies to sports organizations and other social infrastructure for children and youth.
Universities and colleges are exempt from the ban.
Russia’s coronavirus response headquarters said Tuesday, Dec 8, it had confirmed 26,097 new cases of COVID-19 as well as 562 deaths from the disease in the past 24 hours. The country’s cumulative total currently stands at 2,515,009 confirmed cases with 44,159 deaths.
Despite the growing number of infections and deaths, Russian authorities have repeatedly said they have no plans to impose another nationwide lockdown.
The Eastern European country has the fourth-highest tally of COVID-19 cases in the world, behind only the United States, India and Brazil, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
