There are no reasons to believe that Russia will have to deal with a second wave of Covid-19 as long as measures slowing down the spread of the coronavirus are maintained, the Russian prime minister said.
“So far our scientists and experts don’t see any early indicators. So let’s hope that if we follow the guidelines given by [epidemic scientists] and doctors, a second wave will not happen,” Mikhail Mishustin suggested in a Thursday interview with Rossiya 24 channel.
The Mishustin government was formed in January and in just a handful of weeks had its plate full with the deadly pandemic. The country now has a comprehensive testing system in place and judging by the numbers, the spread of the virus – as well as its virulence – has been going down in Russia, giving ground for optimism, he explained.
The pandemic prompted countries throughout the world, including Russia, to shut their borders. In the interview, Mishustin discussed how the current situation offered Russia a window of opportunity to give a boost to domestic tourism and help it compete with foreign resorts popular among Russians once international travel is available to holidaymakers again.
In autumn, the government is to present a program of upgrading infrastructure in tourist areas, may offer subsidies for domestic flights and give incentives for private businesses to invest in domestic tourism. He said the boost was preferable to “artificially” prolonging the closure of the border, as suggested by the interview host, and protecting the industry from foreign competition.
“I hope that our effort will give a [new] choice to people where to spend their vacations. And I hope that they will choose Russia,” he said.
Mishustin, who is credited for overhauling Russia’s tax agency which he previously headed and turning it into an efficient technocratic organization, said members of his cabinet had to speed up their decision making to respond to Covid-19 effectively.
The pandemic forced us to make changes in our lives.
Being online allows ministers and other top officials to work round the clock, if necessary. Russia is looking for ways to improve its governance further, seeing how inadequacy in that area would compromise ambitious development projects his government was tasked with, Mishustin said.
