The Russian Orthodox Church isn’t shutting its doors or using clean spoons, despite a global pandemic Tatyana Gord / Kommersant What happened? On March 10, part of a relic of John the Baptist was brought to the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Despite the spread of coronavirus, hundreds of Russian Orthodox churchgoers have visited the shrine.

Ay-Collection / Ali / Sipa / Scanpix / Leta On March 3, tens of millions of Iran citizens received a message on the mobile phones on the name of the Ministry of Health of the country, in which they were offered to install the AC19 application, allegedly allowing to determine whether the person or his close coronavirus SARS-COV-2 has. The creators of the application promised that on the basis of a user survey in a few seconds they would determine whether a person is sick or not.

The Latvian government has decided to ban land and air passenger transportation across the country's border, according to the website of the Cabinet of Ministers. From March 17 to April 14, transportation by air, rail, sea and bus will be prohibited. Freight traffic will continue. In addition, according to LETA , travel by private cars will be possible. These restrictions do not apply to Latvian citizens and foreigners permanently residing in the country if they wish to return to Latvia.

Why did it happen and what the Russian Orthodox Church thinks about it Tatyana Gord / Kommersant What's happened? On March 10, a particle of relics of John the Baptist was brought to the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Despite the spread of coronavirus infection, hundreds of people came to the shrine. Journalists who have visited the cathedral claim that the traces of kisses wipes a volunteer with a rag, but does not manage to everyone - and this is the only precaution.

Yuri Kadobnov / AFP / Scanpix / LETA At a demonstration against political repressions on March 14, Moscow police arrested nearly 50 protesters. Trying to navigate Russia’s strict rules on public assemblies, the activists staged a series of “one-person pickets” outside the Federal Security Service headquarters in the capital. According to the website OVD-Info , the authorities arrested 49 people, including three teenagers.

Petersburg police detained at least three activists who went out to the Gostiny Dvor building for solo pickets against amendments to the Russian Constitution. It is reported by MBH Media.

The Constitutional Court of Russia in an emergency mode began to check the law on amending the Constitution, signed on March 14 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is reported by the BBC Russian Service. The court accepted the president's request to check whether the amendment law complies with chapters 1, 2 and 9 of the Constitution immediately after the document was signed.

Russia recorded 14 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 59. The new positive test results include nine patients in Moscow, two in the Kemerovo region, one outside Moscow, one in St. Petersburg, and one in the Kaliningrad region. All of these individuals returned from trips to Europe in the past two weeks. These people are now hospitalized and in isolation.

Yuri Kadenov / AFP / Scanpix / Leta On the afternoon of March 14, about 50 participants in the action against political repression were detained in Moscow. Activists arranged a series of single pickets near the FSB building on Lubyanka. OVD-Info reports that 49 people were detained, including three teenagers. "MBH Media" writes about 43 detainees. Among them are oppositionists Sergey Udaltsov and Leonid Razvoszhaev, as well as 78-year-old human rights activist Lev Ponomarev.

In Russia, 14 new cases of infection with coronavirus infection COVID-19 were registered per day, according to the operational headquarters. The virus was found in nine in Moscow (including three children ), two in the Kemerovo region, one person fell ill in the Moscow and Kaliningrad regions, as well as in St. Petersburg. All patients have visited European countries in the last two weeks. All hospitalized are in infectious boxes.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that in order to prevent coronavirus infection in all regions of Russia, it is necessary to reduce the number of mass events, Interfax reports. “This is prevention, these are preventive measures so that the infection is not transmitted,” the head of government said at a session of the coordinating council to combat coronavirus infection. According to him, this requirement should affect entertainment, sports, business events.

The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow will temporarily suspend public work to minimize the threat from the COVID-19 coronavirus infection. Garage itself, its educational center, library and archive will be closed for an indefinite period, said Anton Belov, director of the museum. From March 16, due to the spread of COVID-19, the Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg will also close. Its website states that all cultural, educational and entertainment programs will be stopped at the museum.

On March 13, VTB filed a lawsuit with the Moscow Arbitration Court to recover 13.6 billion rubles from Otkritie Holding. This follows from the case card on the court's website. The essence of VTB's claims is still unknown. VTB is one of the shareholders of Otkritie Holding with a share of almost 10%. It is also one of his main creditors. In February, Otkritie Holding declared bankruptcy. Otkritie Holding is the former main owner of FC Otkritie Bank.

The Russian Orthodox Church says it will not close churches or cancel religious services to help fight the spread of coronavirus, though a spokesman for the organization told the television network Rossiya-24 that the church will consider additional protective measures, including limiting attendance on a case-by-case basis in coordination with health officials. “The Church will not stand aside from what’s happening,” said Metropolitan Ilarion, a Russian Orthodox Church cleric.

Stand-up comedian Alexander Dolgopolov announced on Instagram that he was returning to Russia two months after his departure - he left the country after the police became interested in his performances. “I decided that staying in Europe and integrating into a new society with ghostly comedic prospects would be more difficult for me now than returning home and trying to fight for my rights,” Dolgopolov said.