Coronavirus: Russia’s Vladimir Putin ends nationwide quarantine despite rising infections

Russia’s coronavirus caseload reached 221,000 on Monday according to official data, making it the world's fourth-largest nationwide outbreak

Regional officials have been tasked with deciding whether to prolong quarantine measures at the local level

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Moscow is the epicentre of Russia’s Covid-19 outbreak. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:57pm, 11 May 2020Updated: 2:58am, 12 May 2020

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that a nationwide instruction to stay at home rather than go to work would cease to apply the following day, despite the country's coronavirus caseload continuing to rise.

"As of tomorrow, May 12, the nationwide period of non-working days has been completed. However, the battle against this epidemic has not yet finished," Putin said in a nationally televised speech.

Regional officials have been tasked with deciding whether to prolong quarantine measures at the local level.

The capital, Moscow, and its surrounding region, where most cases have been recorded, have lockdown quarantine measures in place for the rest of this month.

A health worker takes a sample from a man at a drive-in Covid-19 testing facility in Moscow. Photo: AFP

Russia’s coronavirus caseload reached 221,000 on Monday according to official data, making it the world's fourth-largest nationwide outbreak, just behind Britain.