The Russian government has submitted to the State Duma bills that, as part of the fight against coronavirus, will unify the use of QR codes throughout the country. If they are adopted, from February 1, 2022, Russians will be able to visit places of mass events, cultural institutions, catering and retail facilities with the presentation of either a certificate of vaccination or previous illness, or a medical evacuation from vaccination. Similar documents will be required for the purchase of train and plane tickets. Until February 1, in all these cases, citizens will be able to present a certificate of a negative PCR test result. The list of objects where codes are required will be established by the regional authorities. This measure is “urgent” and will operate, according to the plans of the authorities, until June 1, 2022, when the country will be able to achieve 80 percent collective immunity.
“It’s a pity that one of us is guided by the principle that a neighbor will take root, and he will carry me through, perhaps due to him, collective immunity will be formed, the level of which in 80% of the adult population of Russia we should have achieved a long time ago,” she said on Friday Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. – Unfortunately, today we are only approaching 50%. This figure is related to the number of people who have been ill, vaccinated and revaccinated – those who have chosen this path. “
In connection with the emergency situation that is developing with the coronavirus, the government has submitted to the State Duma bills that will make it possible to introduce mandatory verification of QR codes in transport, in non-food stores, restaurants, cultural institutions and at public events. The decision on such measures will be taken by the regional authorities. They will also establish a list of objects where restrictions will be introduced.
“We are talking about an extract from the certificate of a vaccinated citizen, a single form of which was approved by the Ministry of Health and came into force,” explained Ms. Golikova.
The vaccination certificate with a QR code required for shopping, public places and transport can be presented both in electronic and paper form.
It will be possible to obtain the corresponding document on the State Services portal, at the MFC or other institutions. In particular, as it became known to Kommersant, negotiations are underway with the Post of Russia.
In order for citizens to have time to get vaccinated or to draw up documents in accordance with the new rules, the draft laws establish a transitional period. Until February 1, a citizen who does not have such documents can present a certificate of a negative PCR test when visiting these places.
Similar measures are being introduced for transport. So, QR codes will be required to buy tickets for trains and airplanes – for intercity and international flights. Until the date that the government sets by its regulatory act, in the absence of data on vaccination, past illness or medical treatment, a negative PCR test result will be sufficient.
Citizens of the Russian Federation who bought tickets for the flight before the date when QR codes become mandatory can return to Russia using the PCR test.
The head of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Vitaly Savelyev, said that for the convenience of checking documents, the interaction of the reservation system and the system of public services will be organized. According to him, work with carriers to introduce technological solutions is already underway.
The government clarifies that the requirements for QR codes will not affect children and adolescents. All of them are aimed at citizens over 18 years of age. Also, the rules will not apply to visits to pharmacies, organizations that provide the population with food and essential goods. New bills give the Ministry of Health the authority to determine the validity period of QR codes separately for vaccinated and separately for those who have been ill.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the bills are “urgent” and will be valid until June 1, 2022. Then, according to the plans of the government, the country will be able to achieve 80 percent collective immunity.
However, at the end of her speech, Tatyana Golikova said that a number of restrictions might not be introduced. “How we end the year and enter the next year depends on you and me,” she said. “If all security measures are implemented and implemented by us as citizens of the Russian Federation, it is quite possible that a number of measures will not have to be introduced. It depends entirely on you and me. In this case, we are partners with you, we do not impose anything on you. Together you and I should equally worry about loved ones, friends and the country as a whole. “
Note that on the eve of the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that additional restrictions on coronavirus at the federal level are not yet planned, but they may follow if the incidence continues to rise. Today, Mr. Peskov said that the proposals of the headquarters are “world practice, which, in the context of a pandemic, in the conditions of incessant new waves, was recognized by many countries as having no alternative.”
The day before, the specialized Duma committee on health protection told Kommersant that they “in principle” support all measures aimed at preserving and protecting the health of citizens. The head of the Human Rights Council under the President Valery Fadeev noted on the eve that the Constitution provides for the possibility of restricting rights and freedoms by federal law in order to protect health, this, Mr. Fadeev believes, may be reasonable “if the situation with the epidemic remains difficult.” At the same time, “it is absolutely unacceptable to deprive people, especially older people, of the opportunity to use public transport or shops.”
However, representatives of the restaurant business and transport workers, although they agreed with the need for new epidemiological measures, told Kommersant the day before that they expect a reduction in the flow of customers.
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