President Vladimir Putin has urged Russians to stick to social distancing rules, saying that he wanted to avoid another strict lockdown, when the daily tally of new Covid-19 cases was the highest in more than two months, Reuters reported.

Guidelines on social distancing remain in place, and people must wear face coverings in shops and on public transport in the Russian capital, though some flout those rules which are not rigorously enforced.

“You have to ask people to observe the necessary rules, including the mask regime,” Putin said in video conference with regional governors. “Of course, this is not always comfortable for people, but falling ill is worse.

“I would really, really not like to return again to the restrictive measures we introduced this spring.”