Moscow to close bars and restaurants overnight as Russia's COVID-19 cases climb

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a summit of leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) via a video conference call in Sochi, Russia November 10, 2020. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Bars, clubs and restaurants in Moscow face two months of overnight closures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Tuesday, as Russia's daily tally of cases exceeded 20,000.

Authorities have been adamant that severe lockdown restrictions, like those seen in the spring, will not be introduced, even as infections have soared to record daily highs and the official death toll from the virus has crept past 31,000.