Moscow extends coronavirus measures to ban outdoor events, close schools, and isolate all U.S. and European arrivals

The Moscow government has banned all mass public events from March 16 through April 10. The updated ban was announced on Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin’s website.

In this case, “mass events” means all gatherings “in the realms of culture, physical education and sports, exhibits, entertainment, and public education.” All such outdoor events will be prohibited, and indoor events will be limited to 50 attendees.

Moscow will also close public general education schools, athletic schools, and supplemental education institutions from March 21 to April 12. Sobyanin’s administration has recommended that parents and caretakers keep children away from public areas and limit elderly individuals’ exposure to the outside world.

The city already had measures in place to enforce a two-week self-isolation rule for anyone arriving from a number of foreign countries. That isolation period has now been extended to anyone coming to Moscow from the United States or anywhere in Europe.

Ninety-three cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Russia as a whole as of March 16. A majority of those cases were found in Moscow.