Moscow’s cafes ‘sacrificed’ as Russian government plays Covid catch-up

Capital's restaurants are latest flashpoint as ministers scramble to contain rise in coronavirus cases

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The tables inside the Primavera Italian restaurant in Moscow's Shchukino district should have been packed on a Monday afternoon, but the only diners were sat outside braving a thunderstorm.

For Moscow's bustling restaurant business, it was the first day of a tough new QR-code regime that requires diners to provide proof they have been vaccinated or have a negative PCR test to eat indoors. And the diners did not appear to have received the memo.