Kazan to tighten anti-COVID-19 supervision in public transport

3,000 passengers and 158 conductors without masks

The number of cases per day is nearing May numbers — First Vice Mayor of Kazan Denis Kalinkin opened Business Monday session with alarming statistics on 5 October.

The situation with the coronavirus incidence is tense, confirms vice head of Russia’s consumer rights protection watchdog in Tatarstan Marina Trofimova. According to her, the situation in public transport is alarming. Compliance with safety measures was checked in buses in Kazan a week ago. The speaker named the situation 14 out of 37 buses sad: conductors and most passengers didn’t use masks.

5,116 buses were checked in September in total, almost 3,000 passengers without masks were detected. The majority of them put masks on immediately after a remark, vice head of Kazan’s Executive Committee Ildar Shakirov paid attention. Workers of the control and supervision service had to get over a hundred people out of the transport, those who didn’t react to the remarks, Shakirov reported.

He noted that also 158 conductors without masks were detected. 109 conductors received a warning, 49 — lost rewards for September. Stricter measures, even dismissal, will apply to them in the case of repeated violation, the speaker promised.

“Let’s not argue with the specialists”

If the cabin is closed, and a driver doesn’t have direct contact with passengers, he may not put a mask on, Marina Trofimova explained. Conductors must require passengers to wear masks, added the vice head of the watchdog’s office in Tatarstan.

“Why is it important? Social distancing is almost impossible in transport especially at rush hour, and a mask in this situation is the only protective mechanism. If everybody has a mask on, regardless of the state of the citizen (he can have the first signs of the disease), in this case, the mask will protect healthy citizens from the disease almost a hundred per cent,” Trofimova explained.

Vice head of Russia’s consumer rights protection watchdog in Tatarstan Lyubov Avdonina recently warned residents of the republic who ignored requirements about mask wearing in transport and shops. According to her, it is “one of the troubled moments”, which the watchdog continues to state, unfortunately.

“Meanwhile, a mask is the most effective method of protection in transport when a distance is hard to keep. Unfortunately, not all citizens understand it. On the threshold of the season of the flu and viral respiratory infections and continuation of the coronavirus season, we urge citizens to certainly use masks, respirators in transport, in cultural venues, shopping malls,” Avdonina said.

Marina Trofimova tasked the Committee for Transport with conducting raids and providing the reports to the watchdog. Three photos are enough where a conductor doesn’t have a mask on, the number plate and a badge with the driver’s last name, said the representative. It is far better if there are acts of inspection with the date and time when the violation was detected as well as passengers, drivers and conductors’ signatures if they agree to do this, Marina Trofimov turned to her colleagues from the committee.

She hopes that law enforcement agencies will agree to control passengers and purchasers in shops “because the situation in shopping malls is almost the same”, said Trofimova.

After the watchdog and the Ministry of Internal Affairs’s inspections last week, the administration of the Kazan Executive Committee sent transport companies a warning letter, said Ildar Shakirov. Moreover, the committee additionally warned brigadiers, heads of columns and vice directors of the use of transport enterprises about personal responsibility. This week control will go on, the presence of notices, masks and all requirements of the watchdog will be checked, the speaker promised.

He also said that urban transport continues to be disinfected, the vehicles are aired for 80 minutes. Conductors and drivers’ temperature is taken in the enterprises.

According to Denis Kalinkin, it is seen that people in transport relaxed. Despite the tension and tiredness of the situation with coronavirus, the first vice mayor urged to take preventive measures.

“The danger is still here. April showed how tough it is for the economy amid the restrictions. Not to resort to extreme measures, there is one solution: strict compliance with the rules of individual protection. Today when many people’s relatives have recovered from the disease, the number of nihilists who didn’t believe in the coronavirus has increased. A person in a mask protects not only himself, he provides public safety. This is why let’s not argue with the specialists. If they say we should wear a mask and keep a social distance, it means that we should do it. If the watchdog makes a decision about the necessity of new restrictions, we will do it. But everybody must demonstrate consciousness to avoid it.”

9,500 complaints about heating

The beginning of the heating season in Kazan on 21 September and in social establishments on 17 September already became the second topic of the meeting in the city administration. Vice head of the Executive Committee Iskander Giniyatullin reported on the situation with heating. Heating was supplied to 5,314 houses in Kazan, another 36 will have it this week. 400 houses are heated by individual boilers.

Open Kazan system has received over 9,500 calls with complaints within two weeks. The peak was on the 8^th and 9^th days of the works — over a thousand calls a day. The regime is set, the heating season in general has begun, Giniyatullin noted. He said that two boilers stated there might be an overdue payment for gas, this didn’t allow supplying heat to six blocks of flats and one kindergarten on time. Complaints about these facilities were addressed in the prosecutor’s office. They will have heating these days.

The situation in schools and kindergartens in general is fine, Denis Kalinkin noted. There was just one complaint about a kindergarten last week, which was quickly processed.

“It is necessary to address every call at the beginning of the heating season. We received several addresses because of too high heating temperature. The temperature can’t be set according to individual wishes. The Housing Code reads that all decisions in blocks of flats are made at dwellers’ general meeting. Many don’t like meetings. But one should know how to agree and hear each other whether you like it or not,” the vice head of Kazan stressed.