Russia Sets Record Daily COVID-19 Infections, Bars And Restaurants Serve Only QR Code Owners

Public places in Moscow are closed, along with a surge in COVID-19 cases.

JAKARTA - Russia recorded a new daily record of COVID-19 infection cases, after there were 20,182 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, making it the highest since January 24.

The spike recorded on Thursday, June 24, occurred amid the spread of the Delta variant of the corona virus, as well as the reluctance of Russian citizens to be vaccinated.

The government's coronavirus task force also confirmed 568 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours. Both Moscow and St Petersburg recorded the most deaths in a single day since the pandemic began.

With today's additions, Russia has a total of 5,388,695 cases of COVID-19 infection, with the death toll to 131,463 and those who have recovered a total of 4,915,615 since last year's pandemic.

As cases began to rise rapidly this month, Russian authorities rushed to persuade and force people to accept the COVID-19 vaccine. Although the supply of vaccines is abundant, people's interest in getting vaccinated is low.

Moscow authorities have ordered bars and restaurants to serve only shoppers who have QR codes from Monday this week. The QR code contains data that they have been vaccinated, have recovered from infection and have antibodies, or have recently had a negative COVID-19 test result.

Those who do not want to be vaccinated will be refused non-emergency hospital treatment. Last week, Moscow asked owners of public service businesses to vaccinate 60 percent of their staff or face fines.

On Thursday, Moscow's coronavirus task force said business voters were asked to suspend workers who refuse to be vaccinated under the policy, unless they have special medical dispensation.

"Cafes and outdoor verandas will be banned from July 12 for people who do not have a QR code," the Moscow mayor's office was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency.