Putin signs decree on non-working days October 30–November 7

MOSCOW, Oct 20 (PRIME) -- President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he has approved the introduction of non-working days due to a new wave of the COVID from October 30 until November 7 and allowed the regions to start the period earlier and end it later.

"We need to break the chain of virus spread. I'm asking colleagues in the regions not to understate anything, not to embellish the statistics. It is dangerous and careless now," Putin said.

First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said that the government proposes to disburse a one-time payment per employee of small and medium-sized companies affected by the coronavirus, totaling 27 billion rubles.

"We propose to disburse a one-time grant in the affected industries, mostly represented by the small and medium-sized business like we did last year in the spring, by one minimum wage per employee," Belousov said. He added that the measure would affect about 2 million people.

The payments are scheduled from November 15 until December 31.

He also suggested resuming a program of cheap loans, which was in force from March to July 2021.

Putin agreed with the proposals and said that the government will take into consideration the financial burden on business during discussion of the measures. "These proposals, these actions will naturally be connected with a certain load on business… The government is preparing corresponding decisions to support business in these conditions," he said.

According to Belousov, the government studied effect of the restrictions, including introduction of QR codes, and found out that the organizations providing personal services lose about 25–30% of daily revenue. The cost of a two-week non-working period was estimated at 60 billion rubles.

(70.9674 – U.S. $1)

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