MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin hopes that the situation with the coronavirus infection in the capital will continue to improve and mass events and festivals in the traditional format will become possible again. He stated this during the city award ceremony in the sphere of physical culture, sports and tourism on Monday.

"I hope that those competitions that we have scheduled in Moscow will take place as well as large events will resume on our streets - festivals that attract a great number of visitors to the capital and of residents themselves. Theaters again will be able to fully function not only on stage but also at mass events, Moscow’s squares and streets," the mayor said.

On January 27, the mayor cancelled the requirement for employers to switch 30% of staff to working remotely. Now the management of enterprises can decide whether to return the employees to the office or to retain the remote mode of operations. At the same time, isolation at home is retained for the elderly and representatives of risk groups suffering from some chronic diseases. Additionally, restrictions have been lifted on the operation of clubs and restaurants from 23:00 to 06:00.

"The pandemic is not over yet and restrictions are still in place. Yet you can see how quickly we lift them when possible. At the first opportunity we try to remove as many restrictions as possible. Gyms switched to more or less regular operations, with 50% of spectators present at competitions, all other kinds of exercise are allowed, there are no limitations," the mayor said during the ceremony.

On February 4, the mayor stated that the main restrictions due to the coronavirus may be lifted in Moscow by May. At the same time he noted that it is still too early to conduct mass events in Moscow as well as to cancel prematurely the stay-at-home regime for elderly residents and people from risk groups.

He also pointed out that the lifting of the requirement to shift 30% of the employees in Moscow to working remotely is an important solution which gives the economy an opportunity to develop normally and the people to return to their workplaces. According to the mayor, when making a decision it is necessary to analyze the socio-economic situation and lift the restrictions affecting it directly, citing as examples the return of high school students to face-to-face instruction, public eateries resuming night-time hours of operation as well as cancellation of partial restrictions on operations of theaters, movie theaters and concert halls.