Russia Closes State-Run Hotels, Resorts Over Rising Coronavirus Cases

Russia ordered its vast network of state-run hotels, resorts and recreational facilities to shut down from March 28 until June 1, as its number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose past 1,000.

The official tally of confirmed cases jumped by a record daily amount for the third day in a row on Friday, bringing Russia’s total to 1,036 a day after it moved to suspend all international flights. Four people have died.

Russia’s mass domestic tourism and recreation sector is still dominated by the state, a legacy from Soviet times. Millions of Russians still holiday each year at vast state-run hotels, resorts, health spas and children’s camps.

An opinion poll by the Moscow-based Levada Centre showed the majority of Russians, some 59 percent, do not believe the official figures. Twenty-four percent said they “absolutely” did not believe them and 35 percent said they only partially believed them, the poll showed.