Extra measures to protect Putin

Moscow – Visitors meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin at his country residence must first pass through a walk-through device that sprays them with disinfectant, to protect him from the coronavirus, officials said.

Putin has been self-isolating at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow under lockdown, although he made a public appearance without a mask at an outdoor event on the 12 June Russia Day holiday.

As part of precautions to protect the president, visitors walk through the device and get sprayed from above and the side, a video posted on Tuesday on Twitter by Kremlin pool journalists showed.

The authorities in Penza region east of Moscow where the device was made boasted that it “ensured the safety of the head of government and all those who visit him”.

The Penza regional government said the president’s staff got in touch with the company. The device includes facial recognition technology and can take people’s temperatures, according to the manufacturers.

The Kremlin has imposed a range of measures to protect Putin, including regular virus testing of him and all who come into contact with him. Visitors have to take a virus test before meeting Putin, his spokesman said.

The president began holding video conference calls with officials in April, although there have been a few exceptions. Despite these measures, some in Putin’s circle have caught the virus, including his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who said he had not met the president recently enough to have infected him. –