Roadblocks Go Up as Russian Towns Seek Isolation From Virus
Roadblocks Go Up as Russian Towns Seek Isolation From Virus
(Bloomberg) --
As orders spread across Russia for residents to stay home to combat the coronavirus outbreak, some towns are going further and all but cutting themselves off from the rest of the country.
Roadblocks went up on the route into Volkhov in Leningrad region this week, while several towns in the nearby Murmansk region introduced a “special regime” that included barring entrance to non-residents.
Officials in Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine in 2014, also ordered the setting up of roadblocks on a bridge linking the peninsula to Russia in order to restrict access, the state-run RIA Novosti news service reported Wednesday.
Businesses have been pressing for tighter measures to prevent the spread of the virus in so-called “mono-cities” that are dominated by key producers for some of Russia’s biggest companies including Severstal, Norilsk Nickel and PhosAgro.
‘Stricter Measures’
“Mono-cities with large industrial assets are at higher risk now as virus might easily spread there,” said Kirill Chuyko, head of research at BCS Global Markets. “It’s no wonder that tycoons want them to be closed and encourage the authorities to take stricter measures.”
Visits to industrial cities and ports should be restricted, Andrey Guryev, chief executive officer of PhosAgro, Russia’s largest fertilizer producer, said by email.
Murmansk acted after the regional governor met with business representatives, according to Alexandra Kondaurova, the region’s information minister. “The parties hear each other, are listening to each other and cope with the new threat together,” she said.
Chechnya will close its borders starting April 5 and all residents should return home by that time, the region’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, wrote on Instagram. The Tatarstan region introduced digital passes, issued by text message, for residents who wish to leave their homes.
While Moscow also plans a pass system for residents using QR codes, Moscow officials have so far taken pains to emphasize that the capital has not been closed off to people who want to leave or enter the city. President Vladimir Putin told a meeting with regional officials across Russia on Monday that they should “prevent any attempts to restrict trade flows” around the country to avert shortages of goods or price gouging.
“I would like to stress that our country is one big family,” Putin said.
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