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Coronavirus pandemic

Putin signs decree on non-working days for Russian citizens until April 30

The decree also states that heads of Russian regions must introduce restrictive measures depending on the situation in the region

© Alexei Nikolskiy/Russian Presidential press service/TASS

MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree prolonging paid non-working days for Russian citizens until April 30 on the outcomes of his address to the nation, the Kremlin press service informed.

"In order to ensure the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the Russian nation due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), in accordance with Article 80 of the Russian Constitution, I rule to declare the period from April 4 to April 30, 2020 non-working days-off," the document says.

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Putin highlights need for tougher restrictions in some Russian regions

The decree also states that heads of Russian regions must introduce restrictive measures depending on the situation in the region.

Earlier, Putin declared a paid non-working week from March 30 to April 5.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. To date, more than 938,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 47,000 deaths have been reported. That said, over 195,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

So far, a total of 3,548 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 235 patients having recovered from the virus. The country’s latest data indicates 30 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.

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