Moscow will be closing its cemeteries for visitors, except for the people organizing funerals and the people attending them, said the city’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin.

The move comes a week before the Easter holidays in Russia. Orthodox Christians in Russia and several other countries follow a special calendar for religious holidays, with this year’s Easter falling on 19 April.

In previous years, around 1 million people would go to visit the graves of their friends on Palm Sunday, Easter, and other holidays in April, Sobyanin said.

“Unfortunately, this would not be possible this spring. The risk of infection with the new coronavirus is very high, and we cannot jeopardize Muscovites, especially the elderly ones, who make up the majority of cemetery visitors. The restrictions will stay in place until other lockdown measures are lifted”, - added Sobyanin.