Putin announces continuation of holiday as anti-virus measure

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a national address on Thursday afternoon to announce the extension of a paid holiday period in Russia, until the end of April, as COVID-19 cases there spiked.

The move came a day after the president acknowledged that the COVID-19 situation in Russia was becoming "complicated".

Putin said the peak of the novel coronavirus epidemic is yet to come, both globally and in Russia.

Moscow, which is the hardest-hit Russian city, announced almost 600 new confirmed cases on Thursday.

"I've made a decision to extend the time off, until the end of the month, that is, until April 30 inclusively, I emphasize, while maintaining wages for employees," he said.

According to Putin, the combination of isolation regimes and holidays will allow Russia "to buy time for proactive measures". However, he conceded it is too early to talk about turning the tide of infections.

Last Wednesday, the president surprised Russians by declaring the period from March 28 to April 5 a paid holiday.

However, the rules do not apply to people who can carry out their tasks from home, or to essential workers.

Following Putin's announcement, most Russian regions introduced partial lockdowns and self-isolation regimes.

As of Thursday afternoon, the number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Russia had grown by 771 during the preceding 24 hours, to reach 3,548, the nation's novel coronavirus response center said.