MOSCOW: Russia on Monday reported 2,558 new cases of the novel coronavirus, a record daily rise, bringing its overall nationwide tally to 18,328.
Russia’s coronavirus crisis response center said that 148 people diagnosed with the virus have died so far, an overnight rise of 18.
Moscow authorities are launching a digital permit system to control people’s movements after warning the coronavirus outbreak has put a huge strain on hospitals.
A website to apply for the passes was working Monday for people traveling by car or public transport.
The permit system, which will be operational from Wednesday, may be expanded to monitor people going out even within their local neighborhood, if needed, authorities said.
City authorities had planned to assign Muscovites scannable bar codes to check whether people adhere to strict isolation rules, but that sparked huge controversy.
People would have had to apply for a QR code from officials online each time they wanted to leave their homes.
The plan was eventually dropped in favor of the digital passes.
