St. Petersburg’s governor scores another PR coup, posing in a medical mask and face shield beside a new mother and her baby

Over the weekend, St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov braved the indoors of several maternity hospitals, making the rounds to see how the region’s newest mothers are faring during the coronavirus pandemic. To ensure that this deadly and pesky pathogen stood no chance, the governor donned both a medical mask and a face shield. 

While Beglov’s safety precautions were no doubt a noble effort to contain the disease’s spread, the dual protection made for somewhat awkward photographs, showing the governor standing beside medical workers with less personal protective equipment and even an entirely unprotected mother and her baby.

According to a press release from the governor’s office, the staff at St. Petersburg’s maternity hospitals are tested daily for COVID-19 and mothers-to-be are tested 38 weeks into their pregnancies and then again when admitted to the hospital.

At one moment during his rounds, Governor Beglov did strip down to just his medical mask.