Anonymous Telegram-based news outlet says Moscow is planning to shut down at 800 coronavirus cases; officials cry slander

On March 19, Moscow City Hall held a meeting to discuss the possibility of a citywide shutdown due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the Telegram-based outlet Baza claimed.

According to the news source, which is anonymous but specializes in leaking hard-to-find information, the city government’s plan includes a curfew, a public transport shutdown, a ban on entering or exiting the city, and a shutdown of all non-essential business and services.

Vedomosti described an apparently identical plan on March 17, but Vice Mayor for Social Development Anastasia Rakova called its report “a lie,” denying it outright.

Baza now claims that city officials have decided to enact Moscow’s total quarantine plan if more than 800 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus are identified.

The press service for Moscow City Hall responded by asserting that no meeting regarding a full quarantine took place on March 19, calling Baza’s claims “slander.”

There are currently 98 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Moscow.