Ilsur Metshin: “We will dance later”
The heads of city services have discussed the work during the quarantine period
Kazan is the tenth in the rating of major cities in Russia with the risk of spreading coronavirus. More than 1,300 people are under suspicion for COVID-19 in the capital of Tatarstan. The measures to prevent the new infection have been discussed at Business Monday in the city hall, the event was attended by a limited number of heads of city committees and departments. All the others, as well as the correspondent of Realnoe Vremya, listened to reports online.
1,300 Kazan citizens under suspicion
At the beginning of the meeting, Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin stated that a busy week had passed in Tatarstan because of the news about COVID-19 from other countries. “The problem associated with the spread of coronavirus in the world is beginning to concern Kazan, as the city of one million is more susceptible to this.” All regions are divided by disease risk rating. Kazan is the tenth among the cities of “high risk”. The mayor stated: “There are no small things today. Today's trifle can grow into a big problem tomorrow.”
Deputy Minister of Healthcare of the Republic of Tatarstan — head of the health department of the Executive Committee of Kazan Vladimir Zhavoronkov told about the situation in the city with morbidity. He recalled that the first symptoms of the coronavirus appear five days after infection, but the disease can also be asymptomatic. The head of the department recommended limiting contact with relatives, allocating a separate room for those who are “under suspicion” if possible, often airing the premises, and reducing visits to public places to a minimum.
“More than 1,300 Kazan residents who are under suspicion of coronavirus disease are now being monitored by doctors. In addition to the existing 309 beds, the Republican Clinical Infectious Diseases hospital has additionally deployed another 169 beds. If necessary, the city's institutions are ready to provide an additional 726 places for patients. The procedure for hospitalization of citizens who arrived from territories that are not affected by coronavirus has been defined, the deputy minister said.
Zhavoronkov thanked the city administration for timely allocating an additional 15 cars for servicing Kazan residents at home.
“Let us know if there are not enough cars — we will find a solution to this issue," said Ilsur Metshin.
The sales of corned beef in Agropark have increased by 37,5 times
The mayor said that he personally checked the operation of retail outlets for panic demand for products:
“I've interviewed the sellers in Agropark. It turned out that usually they sold 40 cans of stew a day, now 1,500. Let's hope that all the supplies will be made soon, or the population will calm down that there will be enough supplies.
Chairman of the Committee of Consumer Market Ruslan Fazylyanov said:
“Due to events in other countries, the demand for grocery products, chilled chicken and sunflower oil has increased. For some products, demand has increased by 100%. At the same time, retailers assured that there are no problems with the supply of products and not expected. They try to keep prices in the same range, although suppliers try to make a mark-up of up to 20%. Signals about this are brought to the antimonopoly service, after which the situation returns to normal. We are monitoring the city's stores daily. All products are delivered at night and put on the shelves.
Fazylyanov informed that the food fair started their work last Saturday as usual.
Queues with intervals of two metres
“We need to work out the moments so that people in the queue maintain a distance between each other of two metres. I talk to people who work abroad, it's amazing how people have organized themselves. If the queue at the store is large, people stay on the street. Italians have become organized and disciplined. As they say, they missed literally two days. So let's rehearse this week's organization in retail establishments during the crisis. God grant we will not need it," the mayor emphasized.
“It won't work if the president, mayor and heads of city committees are puzzled by it. The responsibility and awareness should be available to every citizen. Some night clubs are open, and hookahs are still sold. People shouldn't care about dances now, put it out of your mind. Not the right time. We'll dance after. Unfortunately, the problem is long-lasting. It will not go away for a week or a month, as practice shows in other countries. Everyone should be on full alert. Then there will be the result will be," Metshin said.
All documentation is online
Chief of Staff of the Executive Committee Yevgeny Varakin said that the reception of the population continues as usual. All specialists are provided with protective equipment. Antiseptic devices are installed at the entrance to buildings. Nevertheless, the speaker strongly advised to refrain from visiting the executive committee, unless it is absolutely necessary. The speaker reminded about 47 municipal and state services that citizens can receive in electronic form. The city services are conducting consultations via Skype and telephone. Since March 17, all business trips of the executive committee employees have been cancelled.
“Parents should not be afraid that we are moving the terms of admission to kindergartens, places in the right amount for pre-school children will be ready. The submission of documents to children's institutions requires a personal visit. Work now, so that there is no congestion of people, through phone calls, parent chats, convey this information, make a schedule, who should come when, to separate the streams," the mayor of Kazan gave the task to his subordinates.
In the next week, we will work with volunteers who will deliver food and medicine to the elderly at home. A group of volunteers has already been recruited.
School children should not walk in shopping centres
Dmitry Anisimov, the chairperson of the housing and utilities committee, said that management companies pay special attention to the treatment of public places in apartment buildings with antiseptics: they wash doors, walls in entrance groups, handles, intercom buttons, and elevators. If disinfection is not carried out, you need to call the management company.
Ilsur Metshin said that adults, including employees of management companies, should be attentive to schoolchildren. It is necessary to inform parents who are at work all day that “your romps should not go out for a long time, high school students do not go to retail chains.”
Mass events in educational, cultural and sports institutions have been abandoned until April 15. During the holidays, schools will practice distance learning. Now they define free platforms, online services for lessons and electronic textbooks.
The head of the department of culture, Azat Abzalov, invited to join the service Library Next Door on the site kzn.ru. He recalled that many opera houses and museums conduct online performances and tours.