As Moscow enters the third week of a strict lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a businessman from the Russian capital was tired of being stuck at home and decided to temporarily switch to the low-paid but physically active job of delivering meals, The Associated Press reports.
38-year-old Sergey Nochovnyy says he did not lose his consulting business due to the crisis, although it was affected by it. He signed up with a major delivery company because he wanted to “look at life from another angle” and get outdoors amid the restrictions imposed on movement, the news agency writes.
Nochovnyy said he walks an average of 20 kilometers (12 miles) a day to deliver food. The businessman, who returned to Russia last year after spending 12 years in China, makes 1,000-1,500 rubles ($13-20) a day as a deliveryman, Nochovnyy said.
The Muscovite says his consulting business was making about $2 million a year before the crisis.
Authorities in the Russian capital have ordered most Muscovites who don’t work in vital industries to stay home in an effort to stymie the spread of the coronavirus. Only visits to nearby stores and pharmacies are allowed, and the lockdown has spurred demand for delivery services.
While people infected with the coronavirus often experience mild or moderate symptoms, possible complications like pneumonia can put their lives at risk. Nearly 30 more coronavirus patients have died in Moscow over the past day, with the overall number of coronavirus-associated deaths exceeding 200, the city’s anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Sunday. Nearly 25,000 citizens in the Russian capital have been confirmed as infected.
Nochovnyy added that the new job offers him the physical activity that he was desperately missing amid the lockdown, and a break from endlessly roaming the internet.
