Vorobyov spoke about the coronavirus that “ate” the growth of the economy of the Moscow region

For ten years, the average growth of the economy of the Moscow region was 3.7% per year, but this year this growth was eaten by a pandemic, Governor of the Moscow Region Andrey Vorobyov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“Simple math: last year our GRP increased by 3.7%, and this year, according to forecasts, it will decrease by 3.5%, to 4.55 trillion rubles. There will be a rollback, but not critical, ”the governor promised.

He noted that the pandemic had an unequal impact on business: some industries were idle, while others, on the contrary, were growing. Among such areas were wholesale and retail trade, high-tech pharmaceuticals and the production of medical equipment.

During the lockdown in the suburbs there was a boom in online commerce, the governor said. “Before the pandemic, its turnover was 230 million [rubles] per day, during the spring wave it was 2.8 billion, 12 times more. This means that long chains, from suppliers to transport companies, received orders and were able to earn,” Vorobyov noted. Businesses have “groped” for smart solutions that allow them to act flexibly and be less dependent on circumstances.

According to the most rough estimates, the pandemic cost the Moscow region more than 120 billion rubles. “Every year our budget added 50 billion rubles, this will not happen in 2020. Moreover, we will not receive 9% of the planned amount of income, this is another 64.5 billion. Plus, 60 billion were allocated for the fight against the virus,” Vorobyov explained. According to the operational headquarters, since the beginning of the pandemic, 139.7 thousand cases of covid-19 have been detected in the Moscow region , the region ranks second in incidence in RUSSIA. Since the start of the pandemic, 2,697 people have died here.