Moscow health authorities have urged pregnant women to self-isolate indoors as the city saw a new uptick in coronavirus cases on Friday.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin previously urged the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases to go into self-isolation as the city of 12.7 million confirmed 1,560 new Covid-19 cases for the first time in three months. Hospitalizations in the Russian capital have gone up by 30% in the past week, officials said.
Moscow’s health department said it has expanded its list of residents required to self-isolate to include pregnant women and women who have recently given birth, as well as those with immune system disorders, genitourinary diseases, musculoskeletal disorders and endocrine system disorders.
“Experience in the fight against coronavirus has shown that these categories are also in the risk group,” it said in a statement on its website. “When they contract a new coronavirus infection, they are more likely to have complications and a severe course of the disease.”
The mayor’s office reiterated that authorities will not enforce its recommendations with fines.
Russia’s number of daily new cases has risen from below 5,000 in mid-to-late August to more than 6,000 in the past seven days. On Friday, Russia’s coronavirus task force confirmed 7,212 new infections nationwide.
More than 1.13 million cases have been officially confirmed in Russia, the fourth-highest number of infections in the world.
Sobyanin on Friday also urged the Russian capital’s businesses to send as many employees as possible to work from home.
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