MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Authorities of Moscow, the Moscow Region are moving to ease coronavirus restrictions and taking down the mandatory requirement to present a QR code to visit restaurants and cafes starting from Monday, July 19, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov announced on Friday.

The heads of the regions linked these decisions to the successes of the vaccination campaigns as more than 3.8 million people got their first vaccine shots in Moscow, and more than 2.4 million had their first injections in the Moscow Region, which roughly equals 30% of their population.

Restaurants and cafes will no longer be obligated to only let people in after checking their QR codes, which are issued by authorities as proof of vaccination, recovery following a previous infection or a negative PCR test. At the same time, they can choose to maintain the COVID-free regime, which allows visitors to avoid masks, gloves, and social distancing. Restaurants that opted out of the QR code system can reopen but will have to observe COVID restrictions. These places will now also be able to work at night, while food courts in malls will reopen as well.

The coronavirus situation in Moscow has truly stabilized as more than 60 cases per every 100,000 people were reported in the city in late June, while now this number stands at around 40, TASS tally shows. The Moscow Region is currently above 30 but this number has moved to decline slowly in the last few days.