MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. Heightened security measures to protect Russia’s leadership against COVID-19 are still in force, Viktor Shlemin, Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Guard Service (FSO), which is responsible for the protection of the country’s top officials, said in an interview with TASS.
"The coronavirus pandemic has changed the entire world, and, of course, it has affected our activities," he said.
Shlemin declined to provide more details about the measures that are being taken. He stressed though that the FSO had "new methods of activities, specifically, in ensuring the safety of state protection facilities," based on recommendations by the Health Ministry, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing and leading medical specialists.
He noted that "widespread vaccination has had a favorable effect on the situation as a whole, but it is probably too early to talk about a steady stabilization of the situation." "That is why certain risks persist, and heightened safety measures remain in effect for the time being," Shlemin stressed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was vaccinated against COVID-19 in the spring. Due to the pandemic, his work schedule contains online meetings rather than in-person ones.
On Monday, the president said that there were COVID-19 cases in his inner circle. On Tuesday, he said in a conversation with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon that he would have to self-isolate because of contacts with an individual who had tested positive for coronavirus. The Russian leader will take part in the meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which will be held in Dushanbe, remotely.