Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to take the country's newly developed coronavirus vaccine, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Putin plans to get a shot of the vaccine before visiting his counterpart in South Korea, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in comments carried by state news agency TASS.
"Putin has the relevant invitation, which was issued by his South Korean counterpart yesterday. Putin confirmed that ... he will definitely avail himself of this courteous invitation once he decides to get a coronavirus vaccine shot," Peskov said.
The Kremlin did not say when the visit would happen. South Korean state news agency Yonhap reported on Monday after a phone call between the leaders that Putin would visit after the coronavirus situation has further stabilized.
Russia's capital and largest city, Moscow, is closing schools for two weeks starting next Monday as the number of coronavirus cases has surged, the mayor's office announced on Tuesday.
Russia reported more than 8,200 newly recorded cases of the disease over the past day on Tuesday morning, maintaining a spike over the past few days that is the highest in three months.
The school closure, from October 5 to 18, is being considered a holiday, without classes being moved online to video chats as has been previously done, the mayor's office announced.
Avoid public areas
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin advised families to avoid taking their children to public areas in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.
"A substantial number of those who are getting sick, often without symptoms, are children. When they come home, they very easily give the virus to adults and elderly relatives who get much more seriously ill," Sobyanin said in a statement.
"Let us use the holidays as an opportunity to reduce the infection rate and stay healthy," Sobyanin said.
Sobyanin advised elderly Moscow residents to only go outside if absolutely necessary and asked employers to allow working from home as much as possible in an effort to contain the outbreak.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said in separate comments last week that a new lockdown was not currently being considered.
Russia's already struggling economy was severely impacted by quarantine restrictions for several weeks earlier this year as numerous regions ordered residents to only leave their homes when absolutely necessary.
