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Mandatory wearing of face masks in public places backed by 88% of Russians, says pollster

12 December 2020 07:26 (UTC +04:00)

Most Russians (88%) support the requirement of compulsory wearing of face coverings in public spaces, according to the polls, Director General of Russian Public Opinion Research Center Valery Fedorov said on Friday at the International Business Week 2020 held in Ufa, APA reports.

"By December, ‘COVID dissidence’ and the fight for freedom of self-expression, in defiance of any contagion risk, had dramatically ebbed. As 88% supported the requirement of mandatory mask wearing in public places. I’ll remind that it looked absolutely different in the spring," Fedorov said.

According to Fedorov, as of December 7, at least 67% of the polled believed that mask wearing was the most effective preventive measure against coronavirus. Hand washing and sanitizers go second with 30%, followed by 27% supporting fewer contacts.

In March, 57% of the polled said that the coverage of the pandemic topped the news. In the summer, the number dropped to 8-9%, but in the autumn, 23% of the respondents again dubbed it as a pressing topic.

The International Business Week 2020 is held in Ufa on December 8-11. It is a venue for collaboration of practices and for the development of new support mechanisms for entrepreneurs in the post-pandemic era. The business program focuses on the economies and medium and small businesses of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as well as on tourism and exports.