Moscow Quarantining Visitors From the USA

Russia has confirmed the 14-day self-isolation regime for foreign nationals visiting Moscow has been extended. 

This extension was approved by the Rospotrebnadzor department for Moscow on March 6, 2020, requiring visitors entering Russia's capital of Moscow from China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K, Norway, and the USA to stay inside for 2 weeks, under self-isolation guidelines.

• UPDATE: on March 6th, local media in Moscow reported 'An updated list briefly included travelers from the USA, Britain, Norway, and Switzerland to the quarantine list -- restrictions that Moscow City Government removed by the following day.'

News reporting indicates all arriving passengers have a ‘receipt’ created twice, one on the airplane, and the second at the airport exit. They are photographed, a database of persons with detailed contact information is then formed.

If a visitor does not comply with the self-isolation orders of the authorities, they may be held administratively liable (fine), and/or forced into quarantine by court order.

According to the World Health Organization’s Situation Report #46, this program is very relevant, given the number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 disease cases reported during March 2020.

In addition, Moscow residents are now under similar self-isolation requirements.

Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin signed a decree on the introduction of a high-alert regime in connection with the threat of a new coronavirus infection spreading in Moscow.

According to the decree published on the website of the Moscow City Hall on March 5th, citizens visiting coronavirus distribution territories must inform the hotline by phone number: +7 495 870-45-09, about their return to the Russian Federation, as well as provide information regarding the place and dates of the stay abroad. 

Moscow Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning and Construction, Andrei Bochkarev, said this situation is ‘unprecedented because there are no mechanisms to control (Russian) citizens arriving from the countries mentioned in the decree.’

"The city authorities, in order not to bring the situation to quarantine measures and impose curfews, warn of the need to comply with certain obligations, which are provided for by the law on the sanitary welfare of the population and the law on emergencies.” 

“If a citizen does not comply with the orders of the authorities, he may be held administratively liable (fine), forced quarantine by court order.”

Furthermore, the Moscow Department of Health has been instructed to organize the work of medical institutions with the priority of providing homecare to “febrile patients with respiratory symptoms who have visited countries with an unfavorable situation with coronavirus, as well as patients over 60 years of age”.

And, if new respiratory symptoms appear, you should immediately seek medical help at home without visiting medical organizations.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causes the COVID-19 disease in humans.

Human coronaviruses were first identified in the mid-1960s. Coronaviruses are everywhere.

As the name indicates, the virus is related to the SARS-associated coronavirus that caused an outbreak in 2002-2003. However, it is not the same virus, says the CDC. 

Similar to Moscow, the CDC implemented self-quarantine guidelines during 2020 for visitors from China, Italy, Iran, and South Korea. 

Additionally, the CDC does suggest various pre-trip vaccinations when visiting Russia, which can be found at this CDC page.

However, as of March 7th, there is not a SARS-Cov-2 preventive vaccine available in the USA.

The latest coronavirus vaccine development news can be found at Coronavirus Today.

SARS-CoV-2 travel alerts are published by Vax-Before-Travel.