Moscow — From the beginning of Monday, July 19, Muscovites and guests of the capital will no longer be required to present QR codes in order to dine indoors at Moscow’s restaurants, cafes and bars, authorities in Moscow said on Friday.
The softening of restrictions in the Russian capital reflects their devastating impact on restaurant owners, who pleaded with city officials for weeks to rescind them.
In addition to restaurants, the city’s clubs, bars, discos and karaoke clubs, as well as children’s playrooms, will resume normal operations from July 19.
Last month, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin imposed restrictions aimed at boosting the capital’s lagging vaccination rates by requiring restaurant diners to show an official QR code proving vaccination, recent recovery from Covid-19 or a negative PCR test from within the past 72 hours. Outdoor verandas were not affected by the rule.
The restrictions were loudly criticized by restaurant owners, who were still struggling to recover from the damage caused by the pandemic. Some desperate owners started closing their restaurants and cafes as the number of customers dropped sharply. Outdoor terraces were allowed to operate without restrictions, but many restaurants and cafes didn’t have room to set them up on Moscow’s narrow sidewalks.
The city’s restaurants and cafes were hit hard by the sharp drop in business and about 170 of them have closed since the restrictions went into effect.
