Petersburg is waiting for a “vertical rise” in the incidence of coronavirus, Governor Beglov warned

St. Petersburg is waiting not just for a new wave of COVID-19, but for a “vertical rise in the incidence,” said Governor Alexander Beglov. He stated this on the air of Radio Russia.

“There is a steady increase in the number of cases, – quotes Governor of TASS – The spread rate of infection in recent days has been consistently above 1.5 units, the number of hospitalizations and calls to the 122 service to call a doctor at home has increased. All signs today indicate that we are waiting for not just a new wave of coronavirus, but a vertical rise in the incidence. On behalf of the President, we have stepped up the preparation of medical institutions in St. Petersburg for increased workloads.”

The Governor directed the city government to develop options for dealing with an explosive increase in the incidence of COVID-19, including “reducing social activity and areas where transmission of the virus cannot be controlled.” “Whether stricter measures are needed or not depends primarily on compliance with existing restrictions,” Beglov concluded.

Over the past day, 4132 cases of infection have been detected in St. Petersburg, this is an absolute record for the period of the pandemic. At the same time, in early January, the increase in cases did not exceed 1.5 thousand people per day. In total, during the pandemic, 884,638 cases of coronavirus infection were detected in St. Petersburg, according to this indicator, it ranks second among Russian regions after Moscow. 824,187 people recovered (625 per day), 29,062 died (65 per day).

Until January 31, sanitary restrictions apply in St. Petersburg. Thus, a ban on night work (from 23:00 to 06:00) was introduced for public catering establishments, cinemas, circuses, concert halls, entertainment and leisure facilities, water parks and aquariums, zoos, ice rinks and attractions. It is forbidden to hold mass sports, cultural, entertainment, congress and exhibition, solemn, leisure and other events with more than 40 people, with the exception of those agreed with the relevant committees.

A system has been introduced for presenting QR codes about the full course of vaccination against COVID-19, a past illness or a medical exemption from vaccination (in the presence of a negative PCR test) for admission to public places and events. Codes must be presented when visiting museums, theaters, circuses, concert halls, cinemas, exhibitions, as well as in swimming pools, fitness centers, gyms. From January 2, it is forbidden to visit non-food stores, cafes and restaurants without a QR code, with the exception of industrial canteens and establishments at the airport and railway stations.

While St. Petersburg is preparing for the worst, the Russian federal authorities, on the contrary, postpone adoption of emergency measures aimed at combating the spread of coronavirus. On January 17, the Council of the State Duma unanimously voted to withdraw from consideration the draft law on QR codes in public places. Formerly “Meduza” wrotethat consideration of bills on QR codes was postponed due to disagreements in the government and fear of protests. Even the most loyal and patient Russians.