Coronavirus: mixed reactions after Putin's announcements

Text by: Etienne Bouche

The spread of the virus is accelerating in Russia where 658 cases were officially reported on Wednesday. In a rare speech, Vladimir Putin encouraged the Russians to stay at home without imposing the confinement of the population. The Russian president said that next week would be idle and that the popular vote on the constitutional reform was postponed sine die. The reactions.

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From our correspondent in Moscow,

On the coronavirus, Vladimir Putin is one of the last leaders to address the nation. This is underlined by the Republic site which considers that this speaking will encourage the population to take the measure of the problem.

The gravity of the situation is not denied, Ekaterina Schulmann welcomes this. This leading political scientist also believes that postponing the vote on constitutional reform was the right choice.

► Read also: Coronavirus: Vladimir Putin postpones his reform and declares next week unemployed

For the time being, no confinement imposed. For the daily Moskovski Komsomolets , Putin's approach " resembles that of Boris Johnson before he is forced to return to the European rank ": " rather than falling on those who venture far with their dog, large-scale concrete economic measures ”.

The day before, the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobianin, had expressed his concern about the spread of the virus, especially in the rest of the country. Shortly after the presidential address, a doctors' union sounded the alarm: these professionals believe that outside the capital, the country is absolutely not ready to face an influx of patients.

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• Russia
• Coronavirus
• Vladimir Poutine

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