Moscow, June 8 (ONA) - Hundreds of residents flocked to the Russian capital, Moscow, to a book fair held in the open air in the Red Square, despite the lack of participation of some publishing houses, especially with the city authorities maintaining most of the restrictions imposed to confront the spread coronavirus pandemic.
The organizers of the annual exhibition, which was visited last year by 300,000 people, implemented several measures that would curb the spread of the virus, including setting a distance of one meter between each seat and the other, and examining visitors before their entering by measuring their temperature.
“Either you grieve over the crisis the publishing industry is experiencing, or you can go and participate in the book fair that takes all precautions,” said Natalia Ewald, from KompasGuide Publishing House for Children. KompasGuide Publishing is one of 180 other publishing houses participating in the exhibition this year.
Ewald added that She and her colleagues had to undergo tests for the coronavirus, before attending the event, which drew up to 600 visitors within hours of the exhibition opening. However, independent publishers declined to participate, citing the potential health risks behind it.
“We do not want to put our employees, our writers and our readers also at risk,” said Pavel Podkovsov, general manager of Alpina Non-fiction Publishing, which lost up to 60 percent of its income due to public isolation measures compared to the same period last year. “The participation in the exhibition will be more like holding a festival in a hospital pavilion, which does not seem to be fun for us,” he added.
In addition to the procedures for social distancing and temperature checks, the Russian Consumer Safety Supervision Authority recommended frequent sterilization of the exhibition venue and the mandatory use of masks and gloves.
It is an important way to support the publishing field, said the Russian government agency responsible for the press and communications, the event organizer.