MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Sberbank CEO Herman Gref believes that the world will never get back to what he described as "pre-covid life" and that wearing medical masks will be obligatory from now on.

"I don't think we will be able to get back completely to the pre-covid life," Gref said in an interview the round-the-clock TV news channel Rossiya-24 aired on Wednesday. "COVID-19 has forced all of us to take extra precautions. I am afraid, forever. Wearing masks will be a basic trait of our culture. Today, when I have a soar throat, I put on a mask, thus taking care not only of myself, but of all those around. I've never done that before. Of course, there's going to be a fundamental change of habits."

Gref believes that business models are undergoing considerable transformations, too. Everybody is encouraged to shift to distance work, to obtain an ever larger amount of services via the Internet and so on and so forth.

"The effects of the novel coronavirus are multifaceted and so deep, that I find it hard to think of a parallel in terms of such a large-scale impact on all customary features of our life," he said.

The Sberbank CEO is certain that even amid the growing infection rates the situation in the country's economy and in the health service will not worsen considerably.

"The way I see it, everything is far clearer today than before. I should say that our expectations are far more optimistic. Even though there are no effective medications or mass vaccination, nevertheless there is the invaluable experience," Gref said.