Russian industry and construction workers returned to work despite a new wave in coronavirus cases which gave Russia the third-highest number of COVID-19 infections after the US.
Putin said on a surprise announcement on Monday, it was a time after six weeks to gradually lift nationwide restrictions that had forced many people to work from home and businesses to temporarily close.
Although Putin gave wide leeway to Russia’s regions to ease or tighten restrictions as they saw fit, he said it made sense for certain sectors of the bruised economy such as construction and heavy industry to be allowed to restart work from Tuesday.
His statement, made on the same day that Russia overtook Italy in coronavirus numbers, drew criticism from some anti-Kremlin politicians. On Tuesday, the number of Russian coronavirus cases surpassed the official tallies of Britain and Spain.
