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17 Dec, 2020 11:39

No entry for now! Russia won't fully reopen its borders until 'doctors allow,' Putin says as country battles Covid-19 pandemic

No entry for now! Russia won't fully reopen its borders until 'doctors allow,' Putin says as country battles Covid-19 pandemic

Put those travel plans for Moscow on ice! Russia will opt to lift border restrictions only when the coronavirus situation improves enough, and the country’s health authorities green-light such a move, Vladimir Putin has said.

Speaking during his annual end-of-year Q&A session on Thursday, the president revealed that the country’s borders will reopen “as soon as it’s possible.”

As soon as the doctors allow, the borders will be opened immediately.

The president acknowledged that the coronavirus situation in Russia remains very complex, with “some 85 percent” of the hospital beds reserved for Covid-19 patients currently occupied. Moreover, in the city of St. Petersburg, which is one of the country’s primary tourist attractions, the epidemic’s impact is even worse, he added.

Also on rt.com Putin says collaboration between UK’s AstraZeneca and makers of Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine ‘good for whole world’

Russia is among the nations most severely hit by the coronavirus, with more than 2.7 million cases registered since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the latest official data. Nearly 50,000 people have succumbed to the disease, although more than 2.2 million have since recovered.

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