Shops, cultural institutions, restaurants and schools were closed in Moscow, the capital of Russia, when a partial closure took effect today (Thursday) across the city, home to 12 million people.
As part of the closure, only stores that have been pre-defined as essential will remain open, including supermarkets and pharmacies.
Restaurants will be allowed to offer food deliveries.
Authorities have announced nine days of paid leave across Russia, in an effort designed to bring the rate of infection down.
Russia recorded a record death from corona in the past day when 1,159 died from the disease.
An exhaled peak was recorded in the morbidity sector when more than 40,000 people became infected with the virus.
This is the first significant closure in the country since June of last year.
The official death toll in the country since the outbreak is 230,000 people, but experts believe that the real number is almost double, due to the fact that the excess mortality recorded in 2020 in Russia stands at more than half a million people.
Evacuation of a patient in Corona in Russia // Photo: AP,
One of the reasons for the epidemic in Russia is the low immunization rate among the population.
The rate of vaccinated with two vaccines in the country stands at less than 35 percent.
Russian news site Vesti reported a shopping spree in the Moscow capital and some supermarkets suffering from a shortage of basic products.
Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's call earlier this month for the public to go out and get vaccinated, responsiveness to the immunization program has remained low, due to high public exposure to vaccine propaganda, often disseminated by the Kremlin-affiliated media.