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Coronavirus pandemic

Russia’s Far Eastern region introduces digital passes to curb coronavirus

The pass is an SMS, confirming that a person is authorized to move around the city to fulfill professional duties

VLADIVOSTOK, April 6. /TASS/. Russia’s Primorsky Region, in the Far East, will roll out a digital passes system since April 7 in order to tackle the spread of the coronavirus, the regional government’s press service said on Monday.

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"Since April 7, the system of passes for those citizens, who need to commute to work during the self-isolation regime, will be launched in the Primorsky Region. This pass is an SMS, confirming that a person is authorized to move around the city to fulfill professional duties," the press service said. This measure is aimed at increasing the efficiency of events on containing the spread of the coronavirus.

Digital passes will be introduced for doctors, pharmacists, staff of essential services, rescuers and employees of other enterprises and organizations, who will continue working in April despite the non-working month. This list is being drawn up based on the lists provided by respective departments, agencies and ministries in the region.

If persons are caught in the street without a digital pass, this will be considered as a violation of lockdown.

The Primorsky Region has reported eight coronavirus cases, one patient has died and two others have been discharged from hospital. Currently, five people are receiving treatment for the coronavirus. A total of 41 people are under medical supervision in the region.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials 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 1,300,000 people have been infected worldwide and nearly 70,000 deaths have been reported.

So far, a total of 5,389 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 355 patients having recovered from the virus. The country’s latest data indicates 45 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.

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