Covid Misconceptions

DISORIENTATION

Confusion and Covid 19 in Moscow

By Stephen Wilson

 

            "One week ago I dropped into my local stationary to buy things for my children returning to school. When I arrived in the shop I witnessed an argument between a well dressed middle-aged Russian woman and two shop assistants wearing masks.I don't like such conflict between women. It was an ugly scene. The two shop assistants were telling the customer, "You can't buy anything unless you wear a mask. We can't serve you." The woman retorted angrily, "Why should I wear a mask? I'm going to buy those things anyway. I'm not leaving." The two shop assistants who had asked politely pointed to me saying, "Look, that woman is wearing a mask! Why can't you be like her?" "No I am not going to wear a mask and I'm not leaving until you serve me."  

The two shop assistants then said, "We are going to call the police." The customer answered "Call the police". The shop assistants then locked the door, but unlocked it to let me out. I was relieved to get out. I don't know what the result of this argument was. But this customer just seemed so intent on some sort of conflict," stated the linguist Olga Stefanova, who has two young children and lives in Moscow. 

You might think that the rules when entering shops are straightforward. While walking around Moscow you can always notice a government notice on shop doors declaring that entering a shop without a mask and gloves is forbidden following order number 55 passed by the local administration. When I entered a shop two weeks ago a shop assistant in a newspaper store told me, "I won't serve you unless you wear a mask. If they learn that our customers are not observing this rule then we will have to pay a 40,000 ruble fine!"  

But when you enter some malls in Sokol you notice that many people are dining without masks. Go out of Moscow and you come across a different set of odd rules. A businessman called Alexander told me, "I asked my driver to buy some some food but he told me the cashier would not serve him unless he wore a mask. He had no mask. While customers were allowed to enter the supermarket without masks and gloves, they can't buy anything from the till without masks. So I asked him to follow me while I bought the goods wearing a mask and he would carry them out. It was a bit confusing."

 

As in other countries, there is a conflict over masks, but the term 'mask war' would be a gross exaggeration. But despite the fact that passengers have to wear masks and gloves while using the metro, you'll notice that almost 50% of passengers are not wearing masks. This represents a higher proportion than previously. It is not uncommon for other people to make fun of another person wearing a mask. They chant, "Why make a fuss?" It is as if people who are wearing masks might be perceived as overreacting or being dupes of some sort of state propaganda. An artist told me, "Why on earth are you wearing a mask on the street? It is not required. Why should I wear a mask or not to go for a walk just because the government tells me? I have my own rights!" 

The number of people who believe Covid-19 is no longer a threat or is invented has increased over the past few months. A survey by R.B.C. news found that the number of skeptics rose to 45.6% in September from 37.7%. A Higher School of Economics survey discovered that more Russians believe the pandemic is either exaggerated or invented. While at present 43.4% believe it is invented and exaggerated, in May the figure was only 32.8%.

 

But anxiety about a second wave is still significant among a large group of Russians. When I dropped into the local printer she told me how difficult things had been. She told me, "If there is a second wave we will starve". Olga Stefanova seems worried. Her daughter attends School No. 1223 in Moscow. She stated, "I have heard that 3 classes have been cancelled because some children fell ill. They were sent home and quarantined for two weeks. I'm afraid that when my daughters attend school their classes might also be closed down".

 

The business man Alexander told me, "I find the situation where I send my two children to school a bit confusing. When I ask my children what they are doing in school they say, "We are doing sport. Teachers also tell me that they are still waiting for a program to be ready for how to teach the students. They don't know if they will be teaching some students on-line, face to face or a bit of both. I thought they would have been ready by now".

 

Oksana Chebotareva, a teacher of English at the Institute of Power and Energy, stated, "I had four classes to teach in a row. In the first three classes nobody was wearing a mask. Then when I came to the fourth class, they were all wearing a mask. This was the class I had been asked to substitute for because the teacher had fallen ill. All the windows and doors were kept open to let in fresh air as a precautionary measure against infection. But the cold draft made me ill. I am certain this was also the reason why the other teacher I was substituting for fell ill".  She also stated that in a school she was teaching a headmistress entered her classroom and asked her, "Why are the school children not all wearing masks ?" Yet the government order leaves the decision over whether children want to wear masks to the parents of children and not school teachers. In strict legal terms, school teachers can't force pupils to wear masks.

 

The anxiety about a second wave is understandable. The number of people who are coming down with illness has been slowly rising. It is not nearly as bad as two months ago, but it is hardly reassuring news. The Mayor of Moscow seems confident that Moscow can cope with such a second wave. In a recent article in 'Northern Capital', September, 2020, he wrote that there were three reasons why Moscow had less deaths than in other cities such as New York. It had nothing to do with preparation or pure luck. Firstly, he claimed that the government responded in a quick and adequate way taking steps to block eastern routes of transmission from China. Secondly, Moscow had a huge infrastructure and medical care centers which could cope with the influx of patients, the metro was well ventilated and restrictions were imposed to limit overcrowding. He also argues that Moscow has become more spacious with wider roads, pavements and squares because wild markets and kiosks which were everywhere and potential sources of infection in Moscow were closed down. And thirdly, the trust and cooperation of the local people who observed many of the new restrictions imposed by the state. Many of those claims are questionable as you just have to observe how many people are blatantly violating the metro regulations. Although the Mayor can hardly be called complacent, you can be forgiven for believing he is opening up the champagne bottles too early. But he correctly stated that, 'We were not ready for this pandemic. And nobody in the World was ready for this.' Nevertheless, it is easy to anticipate a second wave based on present day trends. We are not out of the woods yet.