Extension of bans and new obligations for companies: What St. Petersburg government sprang on to us last Friday
The Government of St. Petersburg adopted on April 03 another set of restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus (Decree No.182 dated April 03, 2020 Amending St. Petersburg Government Decree No. 121 dated March 13, 2020).
These new restrictive measures are briefly summed up below.
- Extension of isolation until April 30, 2020
Following the extension by the President of non-working days until April 30, the bans previously imposed by the Government of St. Petersburg are also expected to be extended until April 30. So, the following is prohibited until April 30:
- Educational activities except for educational activities performed electronically and remotely;
- Sports activities and exercising in the premises of sports organizations (unlike Moscow, jogging in the city is still allowed in St. Petersburg);
- Access to pools and fitness centers;
- Public events;
- Access to museums, exhibitions, theaters and cinemas, zoos, aquaparks, entertainment and leisure facilities, including nightclubs, children’s playrooms, entertainment centers, bookmaker and betting houses;
- Distribution of print media (except periodicals) handed over from one person to another;
- Access to cafés, restaurants, canteens except for take-away or home delivery;
- Access to retail facilities, except pharmacies, telecom stores, retail outlets selling periodicals, gas stations and charging stations for electric cars, tobacco shops as well as retail outlets selling exclusively non-food essential goods and/or food products;
- Providing services to individuals entailing the physical presence of individuals except for hotel services, pet clinics, medical organizations, car repair shops, etc.
- Visiting religious organizations;
- Visiting parks and public gardens as per the approved list and playgrounds;
- Multifunctional center activities with some exceptions;
- Regular road transport and electric public transport as per the approved list.
It is also prohibited to visit any enterprises and organizations until April 30 except for those listed as remaining in operation in the presidential decrees on non-working days[1].
- New obligations for companies
New obligations have been provided for companies and entrepreneurs subject to the presidential decrees on non-working days (for more detailed information, please see our alert), so they must:
- Adopt internal regulations specifying the number of employees who (а) will switch to remote work, (b) continue working as usual, (с) will be on leave. This should be done by April 06, 2020 at the latest. If you have not yet adopted such regulations, now is the time;
- Send to St. Petersburg Industrial Policy Committee information about the employees who will be working remotely, those who will be working on the premises and those who will be on leave. This should be done by April 07, 2020 at the latest;
- Introduce safety standards in response to coronavirus. This should be done by April 10, 2020 at the latest.
And finally, one good news, the ban on hookah pipes in public places is still on until April 30.
We will continue monitoring the situation and look forward to assisting you in fulfilling the above requirements, including preparing and implementing the necessary internal regulations and safety standards, as well as notifying St. Petersburg Industrial Policy Committee about your employees’ work schedule.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the current situation, please write to Anton Kabakov.
Truly yours,
[1] Presidential Decree No. 206 dated March 25, 2020 Announcing Non-Working Days in the Russian Federation, Presidential Decree No. 239 dated April 02, 2020 № 239 On Measures to Ensure the Sanitary and Epidemiological Public Safety in the Russian Federation due to the Spread of Coronavirus (COV1D-19)