MOSCOW — Several hundred demonstrators in southern Russia have protested a strict lockdown amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
The protesters rallied Monday outside the regional government’s headquarters in Vladikavkaz, the regional capital of the province of North Ossetia in the North Caucasus mountains.
They booed a local official who spoke to the crowd and argued that the quarantine measures are necessary to stem the spread of infections.
Police detained several organizers of the rally.
Russia so far has 47,121 coronavirus cases, including 405 deaths.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial economic shutdown through April 30 and authorities in most of Russia’s 85 regions have introduced strict lockdown measures.
