Russia proposes new legislation to tackle fake news on coronavirus

In order to contain the spread of coronavirus in Russia, lawmakers have proposed legislation imposing severe punishments for people convicted of spreading misinformation. According to reports, the proposed legislation will foresee punishments including up to five years in prison or fine up to 2 million rubles ($25,000). According to reports, the legislation was proposed by the Speaker of the Lower House of the Russian parliament and another senior lawmaker of the governing United Russia party. 

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Russia is also using a highly sophisticated facial recognition software to identify violators who are defying lockdown orders. Media reports suggest that last week Moscow police fined nearly 200 people who were allegedly violating the quarantine orders and were out on the streets. As per reports, police used the facial recognition system to identify the violators and fine them.

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According to reports, Russia has so far recorded 2,337 confirmed coronavirus cases, of which 501 came in the last 36 hours. There have been only 17 deaths due to COVID-19 in the former Soviet Union, which is far less if compared to Germany and South Korea, who had also been praised for their effective handling. There are currently 2,199 active cases in the country and 121 patients have been successfully treated so far. Russia was one of the first countries to close down its borders in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and knowing that the country shares a 4,200 km long border with China, it seems a good decision now.  

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Coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19 has claimed more than 42,300 lives across the world and has infected more than 8,59,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last week before Italy and Spain surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world due to COVID-19. The United States and France are on the verge of overtaking China in terms of the number of deaths recorded in these countries. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally.

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(Image Credit: AP)