Moscow: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin asked regional governors on Monday to consider introducing a partial lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
He made his plea after Russia recorded its biggest one-day rise in coronavirus cases for the sixth day in a row, with the official tally increasing by 302 to 1,836.
Nine people have died after contracting the virus, authorities say. Authorities in Moscow have ordered residents to stay at home from Monday, and Mishustin said he thought the measures now needed to be rolled out nationwide.
“I ask the leaders of (Russia’s regions) to pay attention to (Moscow’s) experience and to work out the possibility of introducing such measures in their regions,” he said.
President Vladimir Putin said decisive measures had helped Russia win time in its battle to contain the virus and to prevent an explosive infection rate, but that it was vital authorities used that time effectively.