Moscow on Tuesday lifted a strict anti-coronavirus lockdown after more than two months of restrictions as Russia reported over 6,000 deaths.
Traffic jams returned to Moscow’s notoriously congested roads as residents spilled out onto the streets on a warm late spring day in the Russian capital.
Many Muscovites were in good spirits after spending weeks cooped up at home, and most were not wearing the obligatory masks.
“It’s nice out and there are a lot of people on the streets. It’s a beautiful day, in every sense of the word,” Olga Ivanova, a 33-year-old marketing manager, told AFP in central Moscow.
The easing of restrictions was announced Monday and comes as the Kremlin is gearing up for a crucial July 1 vote that could extend President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power until 2036.
The 67-year-old leader also wants to stage a major World War II military parade which was postponed because of the epidemic and rescheduled for June 24.
According to the critics, Moscow is lifting the lockdown prematurely.
On Tuesday, health officials reported 8,595 new cases and 171 deaths.
The country’s total death toll has reached 6,142, and the overall number of infections is 485,253, the third-highest number in the world.
Last month, Putin had said that the country passed its peak of novel coronavirus infections.
Russia has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases across the globe, only behind the United States and Brazil.
The exponential surge in COVID-19 cases forced the Russian President to postpone the parade but he had promised that the nation will celebrate it on a “grand scale”.
Putin said “strict safety measures” would need to be put in place for the parade.
Russian authorities have been easing lockdowns despite the high number of infections, though tough restrictions remain in place in hard-hit Moscow that lasted on May 31.
Earlier, the President warned that the peak of coronavirus infections still lay ahead and said “the situation remains very difficult”.