Putin’s approval rating rises after address to Russian nation due to COVID-19
In his address to the nation on March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined measures aimed to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus and several economic solutions to the plight the country has landed in due to the outbreak of the disease
MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center has published a poll on Friday, which informs that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval and trust ratings have risen on the outcomes of his address to the Russian nation on Wednesday. In the address, Putin outlined measures aimed to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and several economic solutions to the difficult situation in the country due to the outbreak of the disease.
"On March 25, 2020, Vladimir Putin addressed Russian citizens over the situation associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The president’s approval rating has risen on that day compared to last week, reaching 63.5%. The president’s trust rating has also risen, reaching 69%," the poll says.
In the period from March 16 to March 22, Putin’s average approval rating stood at 60.3%, while his trust rating came up to 67%.
The poll was held by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center among 1,600 respondents over 18 years of age via a phone interview. The margin of error does not surpass 1% with a probability of 95%.
In his address to the nation on March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the next week as paid days off. This measure is necessary to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. The safest solution today is to stay at home, the president added.
Putin clarified that all vital services, including medical facilities, pharmacies, grocery stores, banking and financial accounting organizations, transportation as well as authorities of all levels would continue working.
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, central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in more than 190 countries, including Russia. Russia has identified 1,036 cases of the virus, three people have died, 45 have recovered.
On March 11, WHO declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic. As of now, over 552,940 people have been infected around the world and more than 25,000 have died.