Russian President Vladimir Putin has imposed a nationwide mask mandate in an attempt to combat a second wave of COVID-19 in his country.
The new mandate will be effective Wednesday. It requires masks to worn in crowded public spaces, such as public transportation and elevators, CBS News reported. It attributed the information to the federal health watchdog agency Rospotrebnadzor.
The department has also banned all entertainment activities, including bars and restaurants, between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., according to the news network.
Johns Hopkins University reported that Russia has recorded 1,520,800 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 26,092 deaths since the start of the pandemic. October has seen more confirmed cases in Russia overall than any other month, CBS News said.
The network news said Russia has the fourth-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world. It falls behind the U.S., India, and Brazil.
The New York Times noted the mandate was unusual because Putin has recently resisted taking any nationwide measures to curb the spread of the virus.
"Regarding the possibility of severe, total, restrictive measures, we aren't planning to do this,” Putin had said last week. “The government doesn't have any such plans.”
Despite a surge in COVID-19 cases in the U.S., President Donald Trump has not introduced a nationwide mask order, CBS News reported.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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