Russia tightens virus restrictions as cases spike

MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday tightened anti-coronavirus restrictions including mask-wearing in public spaces after registering a record daily spike in virus deaths.

According to the country’s consumer safety regulator, face masks are to be worn in crowded areas, on public transport, in taxis and lifts from Wednesday.

Rospotrebnadzor also banned public events between 11 pm and 6 am, saying cafes and restaurants should be closed during this time. On Tuesday, health authorities reported a record 320 deaths from the coronavirus over the past 24 hours.

Russia has the fourth-highest virus caseload in the world, with a total of 1,547,774 registered infections and 26,589 deaths. Moscow remains the epicentre of the outbreak and earlier this month residents over the age of 65 were asked to stay at home.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Russia imposed one of the most severe nationwide lockdowns. Non-essential businesses were shuttered and Moscow residents only permitted to move freely with official digital passes.

Meanwhile, international tourists arrivals plunged by an annualised 70 percent during the first eight months of 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) said on Tuesday.

The Northern Hemisphere’s peak summer season was ravaged by travel restrictions, with tourist arrivals down by 81 percent in July, and by 79 percent in August, the Madrid-based UN body said in a statement.

There were 700 million fewer arrivals between January and August than during the same period a year earlier, leading to a loss in revenues of $730 billion -- more than eight times the drop recorded following the 2009 economic crisis, it added.

"This unprecedented decline is having dramatic social and economic consequences, and puts millions of jobs and businesses at risk," WTO head Zurab Pololikashvili said in the statement. The Asia and Pacific region, which was hit first by the pandemic, saw the biggest decline in arrivals, on the order of 79 percent.

It was followed by Africa and the Middle East with a 69 percent drop, Europe with 68 percent fewer international visitors and the Americas where arrivals fell by 65 percent.

While the drop in Europe over the summer was less strong than in other regions -- 69 percent in August -- fresh travel restrictions imposed to fight a second wave of Covid-19 infections have now curbed a recovery, the UN body said.

The WTO predicts international tourist arrivals will fall by 70 percent for 2020 as a whole, and will not recover before the end of 2021. In a related development, earnings for 3M were again supported on Tuesday by strong demand for protective masks to counter the coronavirus even as overall earnings fell amid weakness in some other businesses.

Revenues for the US giant’s safety and industrial segment rose during the third quarter, in part because of strong sales of N95 "respirators" that have been in demand all year as the world has contended with Covid-19.

3M has boosted production of the masks and collaborated with law enforcement officials to fight price-gouging and fraud of personal protective equipment.