Moscow closes the European Nations Cup fan zone... injuries are many
The mayor of the Russian capital, Moscow, announced on Friday the closure of the European Football Cup fan zone, which is distributed over the 16th edition of the matches in 11 countries on the continent, and the ban on gatherings of more than a thousand people due to the high cases of infection with the Corona virus.
"I didn't want to do it, but it has to be done," Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his website a day after saying that the number of infections in Moscow had nearly tripled in a few days.
"Starting today, we have decided to limit mass events to a maximum of 1,000 people," he explained.
He wrote, referring to the European Cup fan zone outside the "Luzhniki" stadium in Moscow, where fans have gathered since the start of the tournament, especially in order to follow the national team, which played its first two matches in Group B at the "Gazprom Arena" in St. Petersburg, saying: "We will temporarily stop all We will also have to close our dance halls and fan areas.”
Sobyanin reported Thursday that cases in the capital of 12 million people, which was the epicenter of the "Covid-19" outbreak in Russia, rose from 3 thousand to 7 thousand in a few days and is expected to reach more than 9 thousand Friday.
Sobyanin said during a video conference that infections "three times, and there is a huge dynamic that we did not see during previous waves," noting that mutated versions of the virus may be the reason for this.
Sobyanin on Wednesday ordered mandatory vaccinations for all workers in the service industry in Moscow and over the weekend announced a "work suspension" week in the capital.
Saint Petersburg, which witnessed Russia's 3-0 loss to Belgium in the first round and then its 1-0 win over Finland on Wednesday, revived its hopes of reaching the final price before its final match Monday against Denmark in Copenhagen, is the second Russian city in terms of the number of HIV cases after Moscow.
Saint Petersburg will host a total of seven matches in the continental finals, one of which is in the quarter-finals, and is therefore expected to witness an influx of thousands of fans from Europe.
On Monday, the city announced the tightening of restrictions, including no food sales in fan zones.
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