Moscow shuts most workplaces as deaths soar

New measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus including a nonworking period came into force in Moscow on Thursday as Russia struggles to cope with almost daily records for infections and deaths.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a nonworking period from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7, when most state organizations and private businesses are to suspend operations. 

He encouraged the most affected regions to start sooner, and some ordered most of their residents off work earlier this week. The country's official death toll from the pandemic, by far the highest in Europe, now stands at 235,057.