Murmansk region closes schools, cancels all events with more than 50 people

The coronavirus fear hits the Russian north for full. With effect from Tuesday morning, all schools across the region will be closed until the end of March, the regional government has decided. 

In the same move, aimed to hinder the spread of the coronavirus, all gatherings with more than 50 people have to be canceled. The decision is similar to the city of Moscow. 

“Organized adults and children group tours both to other regions of Russia and abroad are forbidden,” the decision says.

The first presumed positive coronavirus test in Murmansk came Monday morning. The person was a foreign participant in a chess tournament that took place at the hotel Meridian. The hotel is now closed for sanitation.

Classes will, however, continue at the University of Murmansk, news online Severpost reports. Measures are taken to avoid the spread of coronavirus, like no more than 20 students in the class, and making a safe distance between each student.

Russia closed its border to Norway on Saturday. 

Schools in Norway was closed late last week. On Monday, the government of Finland declared a state of emergency in the country and announced that schools all over will be closed by Wednesday. 

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Read more: Barents Observer’s media partner, Eye on the Arctic, has compiled a brief resume of responses to this pandemic around the Arctic Circle to see how various national and sub-national governments are dealing with the outbreak. See here for updates.