The government, together with the United Russia party, will indefinitely postpone the second reading in the State Duma of the bill on QR codes in public places, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. According to her, the government intends to introduce several amendments by the second reading of the bill. Andriy Turchak, secretary of the party’s general council, called the deposition of the law the only right decision. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin announced the withdrawal of the bill from consideration.
“The government, together with the United Russia party, in the face of high uncertainty in the development of the epidemiological situation, developed a joint decision on the advisability of postponing consideration of the bill in the second reading. The bill that we adopted in the first reading was prepared as a response to the spread of the delta strain, now these will be new challenges,” said Ms. Golikova.
Amendments that the government will make to the bill:
- from February 1, citizens will still be able to use a negative PCR test to visit public places;
- The Ministry of Health will be able to set the validity period of the certificate for citizens who have medical contraindications for vaccination;
- Military personnel and persons equivalent to them will be able to obtain a certificate in compliance with the necessary data protection requirements.
As Ms. Golikova noted, 23,820 new cases of coronavirus infections were detected in Russia per day. On the eve of the operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus reported that the number of cases of COVID-19 per day increased by almost 18% – up to 21,155 thousand people.
Andriy Turchak, secretary of the party’s general council, called the deposition of the law the only right decision. According to him, the document and amendments to it were prepared in the context of the fourth wave of coronavirus associated with the spread of the Delta strain. “Today we see what is happening all over the world. We can predict a certain development of events in this scenario – it is associated with a new strain of coronavirus infection “omicron”. In this regard, United Russia has carefully studied the situation and considers it only right to postpone consideration of the document,” Mr. Turchak explained (quoted by TASS).
QR codes in Russia: answers to basic questions
QR codes are widely introduced in Russia: such a bill was submitted to the State Duma by the government. “Kommersant” has collected the most important details currently available about the new system.
When will QR codes be introduced?
- The requirement to present a QR code in public places will begin to work from February 1, 2022. It is not yet clear from when the QR code will be required when boarding a plane or train, as well as when buying tickets.
- Requirements will apply until June 1, 2022.
- The decision to use QR codes will have to be taken by the regional authorities.
Where will QR codes be needed and where will they not be needed?
- Nothing needs to be presented when visiting pharmacies, grocery stores and convenience stores.
- List of public places that cannot be visited without QR codesdetermined by the regional authorities. It is assumed that these will be venues for mass events, cultural institutions, catering facilities and retail trade with presentation.
Which modes of transport require a QR code?
- V trains and planes (both in long-distance and international transport).
How will the QR code system work?
- QR code can be replaced a certificate of the transferred coronavirus or a medical tap.
- Ministry of Health yet didn’t mention expiration dates, but it is known that they will be different for those who have been ill and those who have been vaccinated.
- The QR code will be valid only upon presentation of an identity document.
- The QR code law only applies to adults.
The bill was submitted to the State Duma in November 2021. This bill provided that Russians would present electronic certificates with QR codes about vaccination against coronavirus in public places, as well as on railway and air transport. Subsequently, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin announced that the bill had been withdrawn from consideration.
In mid-December, the State Duma approved the document in the first reading, after which the document was resubmitted to the regions, as well as to the Federation Council and the government for discussion in the second reading. If the bill is passed, the norms will be valid until June 1, 2022. Citizens who have not received a QR code before February 1 will be able to present a negative PCR test, and then only people with a medical exemption will have such an opportunity.
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