Evolution of COVID-19, summer without Sochi and Soviet eco-trails

RBC Petersburg with a selection of the most important news of the working week

In St. Petersburg , the first signs of a possible decrease in the incidence of CORONAVIRUS were recorded. This week, 5% fewer patients are hospitalized in “covid” hospitals than a week earlier, Dmitry Lisovets, chairman of the city HEALTH committee, said on Ekho Moskvy radio. However, Dmitry Lisovets refused to give exact figures for hospitalizations by day: “To operate with daily data is only to scare people,” the official explained. However, some experts warn that the virus is constantly changing, so it is still far from the final victory over it.

Port megaproject near St. Petersburg frightened environmentalists

The St. Petersburg Center for Expertise ECOM presented the conclusion of the public environmental review of the design documentation for the Primorsky Universal Transshipment Complex. Environmentalists believe that the project could have a devastating impact on the environment of a quarter of the Karelian Isthmus. In their opinion, the developers forgot to calculate the possible negative effects, which then "suddenly" arise both at the construction stages and during the operation of the port.

St. Petersburg developers are preparing for a change in the market situation

On July 1, the new conditions of the state program to support mortgage lending came into force. On the eve of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1060, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed. The term of the preferential mortgage program is extended for one year - until July 1, 2022. However, the loan rate will increase from 6.5 to 7%, and the maximum loan amount will be the same for all regions - 3 million rubles. This is 4 times less than the previously existing threshold for the size of a loan in St. Petersburg. This could threaten the city's residential real estate market with a serious drop in demand, but developers surveyed by RBC Petersburg are counting on alternative tools to attract buyers.

In the Leningrad region, they plan to revive the Soviet tourist infrastructure

The Leningrad region plans to become the leader among Russian regions in terms of the number of routes for outdoor activities. It is planned to dramatically expand the infrastructure for tourism by reviving the network of water routes that have been popular since Soviet times. As regional officials explain, the Path 47 project will be a response to changing conditions in the tourism market. In connection with the pandemic, the country has seen a significant increase in interest in domestic (in particular, environmental and educational) tourism.

“It evolves”: the HEAD of the Research Institute of Viral Infections talks about covid mutations

The third, apparently the most powerful, wave of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic was generated by its Indian strain - the “delta” variant, in WHO terminology. It has spread all over the world, crowding out other variants of “covid”. Many experts say that in its properties it differs markedly from other options, moreover, in the “worse” direction for people. RBC Petersburg asked to talk about the features of the "delta" option of the head of the Yekaterinburg Research Institute of Viral Infections of the State Scientific Center for Virology and Biotechnology "Vector" of Rospotrebnadzor, DOCTOR of Biological Sciences. Alexandra Semyonova (formerly Deputy Head for Innovation at the St. Petersburg Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology).

Summer without Sochi: Petersburgers change their vacation plans

In St. Petersburg, sales of tours to Sochi decreased by 80% as of August 2021. This was stated by the DIRECTOR of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT) in the North-West Ekaterina Shadskaya. Such a sharp decline in the PCT is associated with the new "antique" requirements of the authorities of the Krasnodar Territory for settling in hotels. The Association of Tour Operators of RUSSIA explains the change in the plans of St. Petersburg residents with the vagaries of the weather.

The profitability of the construction business in St. Petersburg began to decline sharply

Despite the growth in the cost of housing in St. Petersburg (last year prices rose by 28%, from, and by the beginning of 2021 by another 8%), the profitability of the construction business is declining, developers say. The increase in revenue from housing sales “eats” the growth in the cost of construction, banking support for projects after switching to escrow accounts and an increase in the burden on the construction of social infrastructure.

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