“As an experiment”: Moscow again allowed walks and sports on the street

On Monday, June 1, in Moscow, the second stage of mitigation of restrictions imposed due to coronavirus infection COVID-19 comes into force. In addition to the fact that many trade and service enterprises resume their work in the city, also from this day residents of Moscow can leave their homes for walks and sports. So, all city parks and green areas are opened, with the exception of the Zaryadye park.

As Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin noted, the “walking mode” is introduced as an experiment for two weeks, until June 14.

“The new walking rules may seem overly complicated. I myself am not happy with them. But, asserting these rules, we wanted to solve three problems at the same time. Firstly, to give Muscovites the opportunity not only to “run out for half an hour” from home, but to take full-fledged long walks. Secondly, I wanted to do without the introduction of another kind of digital passes. And thirdly, it is necessary to avoid the accumulation of a large number of people, which means the risk of new infections with the coronavirus, ”the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin, wrote on his blog.

Note that earlier in several countries it was also allowed to resume walking and playing sports on the street. So, in Spain, such exemptions began to operate from May 2. A number of rules were established (walking radius and time intervals), aimed at avoiding crowds. At the same time, the responsible approach of the Spanish citizens to the rules helped to prevent a new surge in the number of detected cases of coronavirus in this country, which suffered the most from coronavirus infection COVID-19.

We draw attention to the fact that the absence of any regulation by the authorities led to a worsening of the epidemiological situation. For example, on May 28, South Korea recorded the largest increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 (79) since early April. As local media wrote, the reason is that the recommendations were not followed, in particular regarding social distance.

The situation with Sweden is also indicative, where in April the mortality rate became the highest since December 1993 - 10.4 thousand people died in a month. The authorities of this country, unlike other Scandinavian and European states, refused any restrictive measures during the epidemic.

In addition, the late introduction of restrictions negatively affected the UK, where, according to the Financial Times, the highest mortality rate from COVID-19 was recorded among 19 countries of the world, the data analyzed by the publication. Among these states, in particular, the United States, Italy and Spain.

Walking mode in Moscow

The Moscow regime of walks extends, in fact, to almost all residents of the city, including Muscovites over 65 and citizens suffering from chronic diseases. No passes are required for this. At the same time, the mask-glove mode is being tightened. Leaving home, including during walks and playing sports, all residents are required to use respirators, masks or other respiratory protection equipment, and gloves should be worn at work, in public transport and in retail outlets. Recall that the fine for violation of the mask-glove regime in transport will amount to 5 thousand rubles, on the street and in the premises - 4 thousand rubles.

We emphasize that a number of other countries also have sanctions for non-compliance with established rules and sanitary standards during a pandemic. So, in the Czech Republic the fine for the absence of a mask is 10 thousand crowns (about $ 430), in Spain - € 600, in Germany it even reaches € 5 thousand.

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Meanwhile, the ban on leaving the house still remains for those who have identified or suspected coronavirus, there are signs of SARS, and for people living together with them. Also, walks are not provided for citizens obliged to comply with the regime of self-isolation, according to the decree of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare.

Moscow authorities also made a walking schedule for each house, which will be published on mos.ru, the Yandex Internet portal, and in mobile applications. This decision was made due to the fact that during the period of the epidemic, large crowds should not be allowed.

As noted by the head of the Moscow Department of Trade and Services, Alexei Nemeryuk, the schedule of walks is determined not at the address of actual residence, but at the place of registration. And members of the same family, he said, can walk together, even if they are registered at different addresses.

“It is possible to engage in outdoor sports without restrictions daily, but only until 09:00. You can go on regular walks from 09:00 to 21:00, but no more than three times a week - twice on weekdays and once on a weekend, ”Sobyanin explained.

According to the mayor, any open spaces (parks, squares, natural areas) will be available for walks and sports. However, it is recommended to be limited to a radius of 2 km from the place of residence.

At the same time, facility administrations may temporarily stop access to the park or the natural area if there are too many people there. You can find out about workload on the Yandex Internet portal.

“Being on the street, you must respect the social distance. There is still a ban on the use of urban infrastructure elements - shops, gazebos, playgrounds and sports grounds, any other objects, touching which can cause the transmission of infection to other people, ”the mayor of the capital noted.

He added that during walks or playing sports it is forbidden to use public transport and vehicles that are equipped with an engine (with the exception of travel to the place of walk). At the same time, the use of bicycles, scooters, rollers and all other types of sports equipment is not prohibited.

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Sergei Sobyanin also emphasized that in order to avoid misunderstandings, it is necessary to have documents (you can use screenshots on your smartphone) to confirm residence at a specific address. Control will be carried out selectively by police and administrative technical inspectors.

In Moscow until June 14, inclusive, a high alert mode is in effect. In addition, masks and gloves must be worn outside the home in the city, and digital passes are required to get around by car or public transport.

According to the latest data, a total of 180,791 cases of COVID-19 were detected in the capital. At the same time, 80,179 people who were cured of the coronavirus were discharged. However, 2,477 patients died from complications associated with coronavirus infection and other diseases.