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Moscow Mayor Cancels Mandatory Masks But Ban On Public Gatherings Remains

By RFE/RL's Russian Service March 14, 2022

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says the mandatory wearing of masks in public places will be lifted in the city as of March 15, while a ban on public gatherings and demonstrations introduced two years ago as part of coronavirus precautions will remain.

Sobyanin wrote on his blog on March 14 that the decision to cancel mandatory masks in the Russian capital was made due to "the stable improvement of the epidemiological situation" in Moscow.

The mayor also wrote that all COVID-19 restrictions at workplaces in the city will be lifted.

"In the current circumstances, the move will support businesses that are now suffering the ongoing sanctions' pressure," Sobyanin said, adding that the ban on holding public gatherings and rallies in Moscow remained in effect.

Russia has been slapped with heavy sanctions by the West over its invasion of Ukraine, which started on February 24.

Several recent unsanctioned rallies in Moscow protesting the war in Ukraine have been violently dispersed by police.

Russia as of March 14 has registered 17,376,241 cases of COVID-19, including 361,344 deaths.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/moscow-end- mandatory-masks/31752548.html

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.