seadream yacht club covid policy

SeaDream Yacht Club Lifts COVID Restrictions

• September 3, 2022

SeaDream Yacht Club will no longer require proof of vaccination status or testing before and during sailings, according to a press release.

“We believe these updated protocols will not only make the guest experience easier and more comfortable—providing optimal travel flexibility for our valued guests—they will also usher in a new season that redefines travel by yacht through the Mediterranean and Caribbean,” commented Andreas Brynestad, president, SeaDream.

All SeaDream crew members are fully vaccinated and boosted in order to provide the best solutions for guest safety, and the company encourages guests aged 12 and over to be fully vaccinated, according to a statement.

The crew across the company’s fleet will continue to adhere to hygiene protocols While providing services to guests and will continue to follow the COVID-19 Mitigation Member Principles of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

However, because certain governments in the Mediterranean and Caribbean have protocols requiring proof of vaccination status and/or testing, the company advises all guests to check with their local government resources, airlines, and destination countries for the most relevant travel and entry requirements.

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SeaDream Yacht Club Passengers Return Home After COVID-19 Outbreak

SeaDream has also canceled its sailings for the rest of the year.

Passengers on the Seadream Yacht Club ship in the Caribbean were given the all clear to return home over the weekend after their trip was cut short due to an onboard COVID-19 outbreak.

According to a statement from SeaDream , seven passengers and two crew members had tested positive for coronavirus, forcing the ship — which was the first to head back to the Caribbean — to return to shore. Guests were confined to their cabins before they were allowed to disembark and the infected passengers were transferred to a medical facility in Barbados.

The outbreak occurred only five days after 53 passengers boarded the SeaDream I and stopped in St Vincent, Canouan, the Tobago Cays, and Union Island, Cruise Critic reported.

After guests disembarked, Seadream Yacht Club announced that they'll be canceling their trips through the end of the year.

"SeaDream has decided to cancel sailing for the remainder of 2020 after positive COVID-19 test results," the statement read. "Multiple negative PCR tests were required before the guests boarded, but this was not sufficient to prevent COVID-19 onboard."

Passengers were required to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of traveling, and then get tested twice more once on board.

The trip was the start of 22 roundtrip sailings from Barbados, according to the company , ranging from six to eight-night sailings with daily temperature checks and onshore excursions scheduled to "predesignated places."

Prior to the sailing, the company said it installed an ultrasonic disinfecting system "that can kill any COVID-19 virus in the air" and obtained three Abbott ID Now testing machines.

"This is a blow to the cruise industry's efforts to restart operations in the Caribbean," Gene Sloan, a cruise expert with The Points Guy and a passenger on the SeaDream I, told T+L in a statement. "SeaDream's return to cruising in the Caribbean was a watershed moment for the industry, and many were hoping it would go smoothly."

This isn't the cruise line's first brush with the virus. Over the summer, SeaDream Yacht Club was forced to quarantine its passengers and crew in Norway after a passenger from a previous sailing tested positive for the virus. That later turned out to be a false positive, according to the company .

While most cruising in the U.S. won't return until at least next year , major cruise lines have started to look ahead with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifting its "No-Sail Order" and paving the way for a phased restart of the beleaguered industry. Major lines will now require passengers to get tested before embarking , and one ship — Viking's "Viking Star" — has built its own on-board lab with the ability to perform non-invasive saliva tests every day for all passengers and crew.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram .

Day 2: I’m stuck on a cruise ship lockdown due to COVID

Passengers on SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream I on Thursday remained quarantined in their cabins for a second day amidst a COVID scare .

In a letter slipped under cabin doors late in the morning on Thursday, the vessel's captain, Torbjorn Lund, told passengers the line was "working with the authorities on how we in a best possible way will move forward."

The ship currently is docked in Barbados , where it arrived around 10:45 p.m. local time on Wednesday after cutting short a seven-night voyage to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, after a passenger tested positive for COVID-19.

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Barbados is the vessel's home base for the winter season.

"After arrival, the local medical authorities came on board and (did COVID-19) retesting as per their protocols for all close contacts" of the passenger who had tested positive, the captain said in the letter.

Lund said that while the tests had been performed, the results were not yet back.

In a letter to passengers late Wednesday night, Lund said the test results were expected to come back within 24 hours, and passengers would need to remain in their cabins while authorities awaited the results.

Related: What it's like on the first cruise vessel to restart Caribbean trips

There are 53 passengers and 66 crew on board the small, yacht-like vessel, which was anchored off Union Island in the Grenadines on Wednesday when the captain announced that a passenger had tested positive for COVID-19.

The list of passengers on board SeaDream 1, which just resumed Caribbean sailings on Saturday out of Barbados, includes me. I've been on board since Saturday covering this week's voyage — a watershed moment for the cruise industry.

The sailing is the first by any cruise line in the Caribbean since the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic in March. The Caribbean is the world's biggest cruise destination, accounting for at least a third of all cruises taken in a normal year, and the cruise industry has been eyeing a restart in the region for many months.

Even before Barbados authorities came on board SeaDream 1 late Wednesday to begin testing passengers and crew for COVID-19, the ship itself had been doing its own COVID-19 testing on passengers and crew -- albeit at a slow pace.

The SeaDream 1 sails with three Abbott ID Now testing machines that each can process one COVID-19 test every 15 minutes.

Related: What safety protocols were like when we boarded

The shipboard testing began Wednesday afternoon with the ship's crew. In a shipwide announcement late Wednesday, Lund said all the crew had tested negative.

As of midday Thursday, the shipboard doctor still was methodically testing passengers for COVID-19 using the ship's equipment.

In a call to my cabin around noon on Thursday, Lund said that I should expect to be tested by the ship's doctor within the next few hours.

Lund said that Barbados also may require me and other passengers who have not yet been tested by government authorities to get a second test processed by the government.

Lund told me he was optimistic that there had not been spread of COVID on board and that our quarantine in our cabins could end relatively shortly. He said he didn't expect health authorities to quarantine passengers on the ship or on land for an extended period. But he noted that he couldn't make any promises.

In a subsequent announcement over the ship's intercom system in the early afternoon, Lund said that all passenger tests that had been done so far by the ship's doctor had come back negative.

"I understand that this situation is not fun or pleasant at all, and I really feel with you for being so isolated in your cabin," Lund said in his Thursday letter to passengers. "We will do whatever we can to make this time as pleasant as possible for you and also as short as possible."

Lund has been very proactive in keeping passengers informed since they were isolated in their cabins, with frequent updates from the bridge over the intercom and letters to passenger cabins. The ship's crew also has been bending over backwards to make things as comfortable as possible for passengers, considering the circumstances.

Meals, which are being served directly to cabins in a carefully orchestrated, socially-distanced manner, have been impressive in their complexity. Passengers receive a menu slipped under their doors, with a robust range of options, and check the boxes for items they want. Within an hour, the food arrives, delivered by a mask-wearing crew member who leaves it on a raised tray outside the cabin door.

The crew member knocks and then backs away while passengers open the door to collect the food. Passengers later leave their dirty dishes just outside their doors, and they disappear.

Gene Sloan was traveling on SeaDream 1 as a guest of the cruise line. Featured image courtesy of SeaDream Yacht Club

The first cruise line to resume Caribbean trips just canceled all 2020 cruises after an outbreak infected 7 passengers

• SeaDream Yacht Club has canceled its remaining 2020 cruises following a COVID-19 outbreak on one of its ships, the company announced Tuesday. 
• The company was the first to resume Caribbean cruises since the pandemic began, but seven passengers and two crew members tested positive for the virus on its very first trip out of Barbados. 
• Major US cruise operators have voluntarily suspended cruises through the rest of the year, and are working to meet CDC guidelines for restarting operations.  
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

SeaDream Yacht Club has canceled its remaining 2020 cruises following a COVID-19 outbreak on one of its ships , the company announced Tuesday. 

The cruise line was the first to resume Caribbean trips when its SeaDream I set sail from Barbados on November 7. It had planned 22 such voyages, but a coronavirus outbreak onboard the very first ship forced the ship to turn around and led the company to suspend sailings for the rest of the year. 

Seven guests and two crew members aboard the SeaDream I tested positive for COVID-19, according to the cruise line. According to initial reports from The Points Guy's Gene Sloan , who was on the ship, passengers learned November 11 that a passenger had tested positive for the virus. Several additional cases were reported in short order, according to CNN's Ana Cabrera . 

Related stories

SeaDream noted in a statement that it completed 20 sailings in Europe during the pandemic without any cases, adding that it had strengthened its COVID-19 protocols ahead of the planned Barbados cruises. Passengers on the SeaDream I were required to test negative for the virus several days before the trip and once again the day of boarding, Sloan reported . 

"The company will now spend time to evaluate and see if it is possible to operate and have a high degree of certainty of not getting COVID," SeaDream said in a statement Tuesday. 

A series of safe and successful Caribbean cruises could have served as a key stepping stone toward the resumption of cruises from major US cruise lines like Carnival and Royal Caribbean. But the SeaDream I outbreak shows instead how easily the virus can spread despite cruise operators mandating testing and enforcing other safety procedures. 

Read more :  Shipwrecked: How Carnival's high hopes for 2020 gave way to 'floating petri dishes,' stranded crew members, and a spate of COVID-19 deaths at sea

Since SeaDream operates outside of US waters and carries fewer than 250 passengers on its ships, the cruise line did not have to meet cruising guidelines set by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

On November 1, the CDC lifted its no-sail order on cruising — which had been in place since March — giving cruise operators a pathway toward restarting operations. According to the agency's new conditional sailing order, cruise lines must satisfy a rigorous set of safety requirements before they can bring passengers onboard. 

Major cruise lines have committed to voluntarily suspending operations through the rest of 2020, but Royal Caribbean is looking for volunteers to set sail and test out its new safety protocols. 

Watch: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak

• Main content

Russia orders new lockdowns in Moscow as COVID deaths continue to climb

The Moscow city government has ordered people aged 60 and over to stay home for four months and told businesses to have at least 30 per cent of staff work from home amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Russia.

Key points:

• About 32 per cent of Russia's nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated
• Vladimir Putin's spokesman says more could have been done to make vaccines available and encourage people to have them
• An expert says the situation in Russia is "extremely worrying"

The new rules take effect from October 25, it said in a statement.

On Tuesday Russia reported 1,015 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest single-day toll since the start of the pandemic, as well as 33,740 new infections.

The Kremlin has ruled out a new nationwide lockdown like the one early on in the pandemic that dealt a heavy blow to the economy and sapped President Vladimir Putin's popularity.

Daily death tolls have been surging for weeks and topped 1,000 for the first time over the weekend amid sluggish vaccination rates, lax public attitudes toward taking precautions and the government's reluctance to toughen restrictions.

Russia boasted about becoming the first country in the world to authorise a coronavirus vaccine in August 2020 — even though it was only tested on a small scale — and proudly named the shot Sputnik V after the world's first satellite, to underline the country's scientific achievements.

While extolling Sputnik and three other domestic vaccines developed later, Russia's state-controlled media chafed at the perceived flaws of Western-made shots, a controversial message that many observers saw as feeding public doubts about vaccines.

Vaccination rates remain low

Amid widespread vaccine hesitancy, authorities have raised pressure on medical workers, teachers and public servants to get the shots, but the uptake has remained sluggish.

The government coronavirus task force said on Monday that about 45 million Russians, or 32 per cent of the country's nearly 146 million people, had been fully vaccinated.

Mr Putin has underlined the importance of broad vaccination, but emphasised that it should remain voluntary.

Authorities have opened vaccination locations in shopping malls and other facilities outside clinics and tried to encourage people to get the shots with lotteries, bonuses and other incentives, but all those efforts have failed to accelerate take-up.

Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the government had done everything to make vaccines easily available but added that it should have been more proactive in its efforts to encourage vaccination.

"Obviously, more should have been done to explain the lack of alternative to vaccination," Mr Peskov said.

Asked if the government could authorise imports of foreign vaccines to help boost uptake, Mr Peskov said vaccine scepticism was not limited to domestic shots.

Russia-EU talks on mutual recognition of coronavirus vaccines have dragged on without an end in sight.

While resisting a nationwide lockdown, the Kremlin has told authorities across the country to decide on restrictions depending on the local situation.

Many of Russia's 85 regions have already restricted attendance at large public events and limited access to theaters, restaurants and other venues.

Some have made vaccination compulsory for certain categories of public servants and people older than 60.

Russian case numbers a threat to Europe

On Monday St Petersburg joined other Russian cities in ordering attendees at conferences and sports events to prove their vaccination status via a digital code system from November 1.

Those rules will be expanded on November 15 to make the codes mandatory at cinemas, theatres, museums and gyms, and on December 1 they become mandatory at restaurants, cafes and some stores.

The city has reported the nation's second-largest number of new infections after Moscow.

The government task force has registered a total of more than 8 million infections and its official COVID-19 toll ranks Russia as having the fifth-most pandemic deaths in the world following the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico.

However, state statistics agency Rosstat, which also counts deaths in which the virus wasn't considered the main cause, has reported a much higher pandemic death toll — about 418,000 people with COVID-19 as of August.

Based on that number, Russia would be the fourth hardest-hit nation, ahead of Mexico.

Martin McKee, a professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the COVID-19 situation in Russia was extremely worrying, not only for Russia but for the rest of the world.

He said even high rates of vaccination elsewhere in Europe wouldn't be able to prevent the virus from being reimported from Russia, particularly if any worrisome new variants emerge.

"Until we have control of the virus everywhere, there's a risk of importation and the pandemic will not be under control," he said, describing the spread of the virus in Russia and the Baltic states as a threat to Europe.

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'the level of vaccination is insufficient': kremlin spokesman laments russia's rising covid death toll.

COVID-19 infiltrates Vladimir Putin's inner circle

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Moscow closing schools, many businesses as virus deaths soar

Medical staff members wearing special suits to protect against COVID-19 move a patient with coronavirus at an ICU at the Moscow City Clinical Hospital 52, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021.The government coronavirus task force reported 36,339 new confirmed infections and more than thousand deaths in the past 24 hours. That brought Russia’s death toll to 227,389, by far the highest in Europe. Moscow Mayor Sergei said all restaurants, cafes and non-food stores, gyms, cinemas and other entertainment venues in the Russian capital will be shut from Oct. 28 to Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Medics wearing special suits to protect against COVID-19 treat a patient with coronavirus at an ICU at the Moscow City Clinical Hospital 52, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. Russia hit another daily record of coronavirus deaths Tuesday as rapidly surging infection rates raised pressure on the country’s health care system and prompted the government to suggest declaring a nonworking week.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

An aerial view shows fresh graves at the Yastrebkovskoe cemetery, which serves as one of the burial grounds for those who died of the coronavirus, outside in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. The government coronavirus task force reported 36,339 new confirmed infections and more than thousand deaths in the past 24 hours. That brought Russia’s death toll to 227,389, by far the highest in Europe. Moscow Mayor Sergei said all restaurants, cafes and non-food stores, gyms, cinemas and other entertainment venues in the Russian capital will be shut from Oct. 28 to Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus wait for a bus in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. Authorities in Moscow on Thursday announced plans to shut restaurants, cinemas and non-food stores and introduce other restrictions later this month, as Russia registered the highest daily numbers of new COVID-19 infections and deaths since the start of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Medical staff members wearing a special suit to protect against COVID-19 treat a patient with coronavirus at an ICU at the Moscow City Clinical Hospital 52, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. The government coronavirus task force reported 36,339 new confirmed infections and more than thousand deaths in the past 24 hours. That brought Russia’s death toll to 227,389, by far the highest in Europe. Moscow Mayor Sergei said all restaurants, cafes and non-food stores, gyms, cinemas and other entertainment venues in the Russian capital will be shut from Oct. 28 to Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A man wears a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus as he enters a metro station in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. Authorities in Moscow on Thursday announced plans to shut restaurants, cinemas and non-food stores and introduce other restrictions later this month, as Russia registered the highest daily numbers of new COVID-19 infections and deaths since the start of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Medics wearing special suits to protect against coronavirus treat a patient with coronavirus, left, as others prepare a patent to move at an ICU at the Moscow City Clinical Hospital 52, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. Russia hit another daily record of coronavirus deaths Tuesday as rapidly surging infection rates raised pressure on the country’s health care system and prompted the government to suggest declaring a nonworking week. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Georgy N. Arbolishvili, M.D., Ph.D. , Head of Resuscitation and Intensive Care Unit (ICU No. 3) of the Moscow City Clinical Hospital 52, speaks during his interview with the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. Medics blame the country’s quickly mounting infections and deaths on a slow vaccine uptake. Russia hit another daily record of coronavirus deaths Tuesday as rapidly surging infection rates raised pressure on the country’s health care system and prompted the government to suggest declaring a nonworking week. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A medic wearing a special suit to protect against coronavirus sits near a patient with coronavirus at an ICU at the Moscow City Clinical Hospital 52, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. Russia hit another daily record of coronavirus deaths Tuesday as rapidly surging infection rates raised pressure on the country’s health care system and prompted the government to suggest declaring a nonworking week.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures attends the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. President Vladimir Putin has voiced consternation about Russians’ hesitancy to get vaccinated and urged them to get the shots, adding: “Why wait for the illness and its grave consequences?” (Maksim Blinov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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MOSCOW (AP) — Restaurants, movie theaters and many retail stores in Moscow will be closed for 11 days starting Oct. 28, along with other new restrictions, officials said Thursday, as Russia recorded the highest numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths since the pandemic began.

The government coronavirus task force reported 36,339 new infections and 1,036 deaths in the past 24 hours. That brought Russia’s death toll to 227,389, by far the highest in Europe.

President Vladimir Putin has voiced consternation about Russians’ hesitancy to get vaccinated and urged them to get the shots, but firmly ruled out making them mandatory.

He responded to the rising infections and deaths by ordering Russians to stay off work from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7, when the country already is observing a four-day national holiday, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin followed up by introducing new restrictions in the capital, starting even earlier.

Gyms, cinemas and other entertainment venues, as well as most stores will close in Moscow from Oct. 28 to Nov. 7, along with kindergartens and schools. Restaurants and cafes will only be open for takeout or delivery orders during that period. Food stores and pharmacies can stay open.

Access to museums, theaters, concert halls and other venues will be limited to those holding digital codes on their smartphones to prove vaccination or past illness, a practice that will remain in place even after Nov. 7.

Most state organizations and private businesses, except for those operating key infrastructure and a few others, will halt work in the 11-day period, Sobyanin added.

Earlier this week, he said unvaccinated people over 60 will be required to stay home except for brief walks and open-air exercise. He also told businesses to keep at least a third of their employees working remotely for three months starting Oct. 25.

“The situation in Moscow is developing according to the worst-case scenario,” Sobyanin wrote on his blog, adding that the number of infections in the capital is nearing all-time highs.

Russia’s daily infections have been surging for weeks and mortality numbers topped 1,000 for the first time last weekend amid low vaccination rates, lax public attitudes toward taking precautions and the government’s reluctance to tighten restrictions. Only about 45 million Russians — roughly a third of its nearly 146 million people — are fully vaccinated.

Russia was the first country in the world to authorize a coronavirus vaccine, launching Sputnik V in August 2020, and has plentiful supplies. But citizens have been reluctant to get it.

Putin, who was vaccinated with Sputnik V earlier this year, said Wednesday he was bewildered by that hesitancy, even among his close friends, who told him they would get the shot after he did, but then kept delaying it.

Speaking Thursday at a panel with foreign policy experts, Putin said that “there are just two options for everyone — to get sick, or receive a vaccine. And there is no way to walk between the raindrops.”

Asked if Russia could make vaccines mandatory, Putin said he believes they should remain voluntary.

“I believe we mustn’t force it but persuade people and prove to them that vaccination is better than illness,” he said. “We must try to increase people’s trust in the government’s actions. We need to be more convincing and prove it by example. I hope we will succeed.”

Some critics have blamed the slow pace of vaccination on conflicting signals from authorities. While extolling Sputnik V and three other domestic vaccines, state-controlled media often criticized Western-made shots, a message that many saw as feeding doubts about vaccines in general.

Russia is still waiting for the World Health Organization to approve Sputnik V.

On Thursday, WHO formally restarted the process to approve the vaccine for emergency use — a process that had been put on hold for months because of legal procedures to secure the agreement of the Russian Direct Investment Fund that bankrolls the vaccine to WHO rules and procedures.

Dr. Mariangela Simao, a WHO assistant director-general for medical products, didn’t specify when a possible approval would come for an emergency use listing for Sputnik V. She said WHO expects to receive in the next two weeks additional data on the vaccine, such as technical and clinical data, manufacturing practices and quality management systems.

Russian authorities believe the order to keep people off work should help limit the spread of the virus by keeping them out of offices and off public transportation, where mask mandates have been widely ignored. The government also urged local authorities to tighten their own restrictions during the period.

In some regions where the situation is even more threatening, Putin said the nonworking period could start as early as Saturday and be extended past Nov. 7.

After imposing a nationwide lockdown early in the pandemic, the government has balked at them since then, for fear of hurting the economy and sapping Putin’s popularity. Authorities have instead allowed regional authorities to decide on local restrictions.

Many of Russia’s 85 regions already have restricted attendance at large public events and introduced the digital codes for access to restaurants, theaters and other venues. Some have made vaccinations compulsory for certain public servants and people over 60.

But Moscow had avoided such restrictions until now, and crowds have flocked to its restaurants, movie theaters, nightclubs and karaoke bars. Authorities have avoided restrictive measures until now, partly because the capital’s health care system has more resources than other regions.

But Sobyanin said tougher measures are now inevitable.

“The experience shows that nonworking days are the most effective way to reduce contagion and deaths,” he said.

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

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Smart City Data Sensing during COVID-19: Public Reaction to Accelerating Digital Transformation

Alexander a. kharlamov.

1 Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117865 Moscow, Russia; ur.tsylana@vomalrahk

Aleksei N. Raskhodchikov

2 Moscow Centre of Urban Studies, 115280 Moscow, Russia; ur.liam@awolsalis

Maria Pilgun

3 Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 125009 Moscow, Russia

Associated Data

Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study.

The article presents the results of the analysis of the adaptation of metropolis IT technologies to solve operational problems in extreme conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The material for the study was Russian-language data from social networks, microblogging, blogs, instant messengers, forums, reviews, video hosting services, thematic portals, online media, print media and TV related to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia. The data were collected between 1 March 2020 and 1 June 2020. The database size includes 85,493,717 characters. To analyze the content of social media, a multimodal approach was used involving neural network technologies, text analysis, sentiment-analysis and analysis of lexical associations. The transformation of old digital services and applications, as well as the emergence of new ones were analyzed in terms of the perception of digital communications by actors.

1. Introduction

The digital services, measurement and data management technologies of smart cities were stimulated to develop rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic,. The public response to technological innovations and the introduction of new regulations was mixed. Some innovations were implemented quite successfully and were popular with the urban residents. Others have prompted various forms of resistance, from social media criticism to civil disobedience. This article is devoted to the analysis of the reaction of Moscow residents to accelerating digital transformation, which the Moscow authorities were forced to carry out during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is already a sufficient amount of scientific research revealing various aspects of the use of IT technologies to combat the spread of COVID-19, accelerate digital transformation, as well as a study that analyzed the role of old and new media during the coronavirus pandemic, reactions on social networks and the transformation of communication processes, etc.

For example, researchers are actively developing technological solutions for detecting coronavirus, monitoring symptoms [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], rehabilitation [ 5 ], limiting the spread of the pandemic [ 6 ].

It should be noted that the “digital turn” radically changed politics, transformed the traditional modernist binary systems in state-society, public-private, consumption-production, work-leisure, culture-nature and man-posthuman terms. The growing influence of digital technologies on society has formed two opposite positions. Digital optimists focus on the positive aspects of digital transformations that provide new opportunities for the formation of diverse forms of communities, alternative ways of learning and perception, creative innovations, a culture of participation, networking and cloud democracy (“e-democracy”). Digital pessimists point to the negative aspects associated with the expansion of dominance through new forms of control, a surveillance society, network authoritarianism, digital dehumanization, alienation 2.0 and network exploitation. Socially disadvantaged people living on the “outskirts” of the digital society are oppressed both in terms of access to the benefits of use (there are three levels of the digital divide) and in terms of understanding and handling new digital technologies (three levels of separation) [ 7 ].

Research has shown that the majority of residents highly appreciated the benefits of using digital technologies in the field of transport and services provision; however, decision-making in the field of healthcare and justice involving Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies causes a negative attitude. Residents’ greatest concerns are related to ethical issues, lack of transparency and the potential AI impact on employment. It is appropriate to recall that, according to the research by Carrasco, Mills, Whybrew and Jura, the level of confidence in the government was the decisive factor in the readiness of residents to master artificial intelligence technologies [ 8 ].

The growth of technology has led to the emergence of the concepts of “digital twin” and “digital identity” [ 9 , 10 ]. Digital twin technologies have proven to be extremely in demand in the formation and development of the smart city concept, since they provided ample opportunities for ensuring the safety and sustainable development of smart cities.

Researchers have proven that digital twin technologies used to monitor, visualize, diagnose and predict in real time are vital to the sustainability and efficiency of urban systems and infrastructure elements that interact with each other. Moreover, one of the key factors ensuring the security of digital twins is the Internet of things. The negative side of the development of digital technologies, as is recognized, are the risks associated with the loss of privacy of a person’s identity, since digital footprints provide unprecedentedly detailed information about private life. The privacy of a person is directly dependent on the effectiveness of his personal data protection [ 11 ].

Thus, with the development of “smart” cities and technologies that use various types of data, ethical problems are exacerbated that are associated with privacy, the possibilities of the Internet of things, “smart” infrastructure, digital government, etc.

Face recognition technologies are the most in demand in the “smart” city system. Mass video surveillance is designed to provide security and reduce the crime rate, but it does not correlate well with privacy and significantly expands the possibilities of control and surveillance. The Internet of things, on the one hand, makes it possible based on data to increase the efficiency of management decisions fight against crime and to increase the comfort of residents by creating new services; on the other hand, the data collected by Internet of things technologies is by no means limited to information about the state of urban infrastructure, but also contain personal data, as well as personal information of residents. As a result, fundamentally new risks for the safety of the city are formed; the urban infrastructure depends heavily on the manufacturers of technologies, software and components; there is a risk of data leakage.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies in the near future will significantly expand the boundaries of digital technologies and will pose a number of new problems in terms of contradictions between the public good and the boundaries of a person’s private life in a “smart” city. Thus, decision support systems using artificial intelligence technologies can improve the efficiency of the decision support system and predictive analytics, organize preventive targeted social assistance, ensure a quick reaction of city authorities to changes, but increase the risks of discrimination due to the bias of algorithms and lead to an increase in digital inequality [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].

In the world, already in the pre-COVID-19 era, there were precedents of confrontation between city residents and technology campaigns. Thus, residents of the city of Toronto (Canada) refused the opportunity to turn their city into a “smart” one with the participation of the Alphabet Corporation because of the negative attitude of the residents towards data-corporations that commit gross violations in the collection and use of people’s personal data [ 16 ].

In the Netherlands, the contradictory nature of the processes accompanying the development of a “smart” city has led to the formation of the basic principles of urban planning that define the boundaries of the technology invasion into the residents’ lives [ 17 ].

Analysis of the development of epidemics in past years has shown that an increase in social tension is caused by communicative errors, which are made in the course of an information campaign on the prevention and treatment of the population [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Moreover, the main role in the conflict escalation and the growth of negative sentiments, is played by the media. The health care crisis causes panic and forms the collective anger in society that falls upon the authorities [ 21 ].

The results of previous studies were also confirmed by the practice of the COVID-19 pandemic, which showed that prevention and protection against infection in communities play a decisive role in containing and controlling the spread of infection [ 22 ].

Anti-crisis communications during the COVID-19 pandemic have already been described in detail in the specialized literature [ 23 , 24 ]. In particular, the study [ 25 ] analyzed the role of old and new media during the COVID-19 pandemic, reactions in social media, information support of quarantine measures, the phenomenon of infodemic and the transformation of communication processes.

The features of organizational communications during the pandemic [ 26 ], the transformation of the event management industry [ 27 ], examples of successful and unsuccessful leadership and guidelines for responding to COVID-19 [ 28 ] have also received attention.

The public reaction, which is expressed in the digital footprints of users, is usually analyzed using sentiment analysis. Modern sentiment analysis of the text includes at least three types of tasks: (1) classification of tonal messages (positive/negative or finer gradation); (2) determination of sentiment regarding a given sentiment object (often followed by visual marking of the sentence dependency tree; (3) determination of sentiment of a sentiment object with respect to its implicit and explicit attributes (feature-based) [ 29 , 30 , 31 ].

Sentiment analysis on the impact of coronavirus in social life using the BERT model is presented in a detailed study. [ 32 ]. However, it should be noted that the analysis of public sentiment based on digital data during the period of the pandemic was carried out mainly on the basis of tweets [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. For Russian-speaking users, the analysis of Twitter content is not indicative, since this resource is not popular with users due to the morphological and syntactic features of the Russian language. In the Russian-speaking media space, Twitter is used primarily by PR experts and spin doctors in political communications. A technology for monitoring the mental health of citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic using sentiment analysis based on the material of the Korean language was proposed in the study [ 37 ]. Meanwhile, highlighting four emotional labels (anger, sadness, neutral, and happiness) and three possible interactive responses for each emotion (reciting wise sayings, playing music, and sympathizing: reciting wise sayings, playing music, and sympathizing) that gives good results for the Korean language users is not relevant for the analysis of the content of Russian-speaking users.

The novelty of this study lies in the fact that, despite the existing research, the specificity of the data analysis and management of the smart city during COVID-19 in terms of public reaction to the acceleration of digital transformation and the perception of digital innovations by residents has not yet received coverage in the specialized literature.

The aim of the study is to analyze actors’ perceptions of the accelerations of digital transformation, adaptation of IT technologies of the metropolis to solve operational problems in the extreme conditions of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as study society’s reaction to technical transformations, the specifics of analysis and management of urban infrastructure data.

The significance of the proposed work in the current situation is due to the fact that the spread of COVID-19 continues and acceleration of the digital transformation will also have to continue. Meanwhile, the success of digital transformation largely depends on the reaction of society. The algorithm proposed by the authors of this article can be used to analyze the reaction of society to different types of transformations, for predictive analytics of conflicts, to increase the level of trust and the effectiveness of dialogue between society and the government.

2. Materials and Methods

The material for the study was data from social networks, microblogging, blogs, instant messengers, forums, reviews, video hosting services, thematic portals, online media, print media and TV related to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia.

Data collection was carried out using monitoring by message texts, recognized texts in pictures, video transcripts, check-ins, and stories. When forming the empirical database, various types of digital sources were used: social networks, blogs, forums, reviews, marketplaces, map services, stores of mobile applications; Telegram public channels and chats; online media; websites of government agencies, market-forming companies and organizations.

• Data collection period: 1 March 2020 to 1 June 2020.
• Database volume: 11,120,287 words and 85,493,717 characters.
• Number of messages: 161,541.
• Number of active actors: 47,574.
• Number of sources: 1325.

2.2. Method

To analyze the content of social media, a multimodal approach was used involving neural network technologies, text analysis, sentiment-analysis, analysis of lexical associations [ 38 ] and content analysis [ 39 , 40 ]

The study involved a model using neural-like elements with temporal summation of signals or corticomorphic associative memory, which made it possible to single out explicit knowledge, topics that aroused the greatest interest of actors, to study the topic structure of content and to summarize data. In addition, the neural network representation of the text made it possible to form and interpret the semantic network in the form of a set of interrelated concepts. With the help of the semantic network, implicatures and semantic accents, which are most important for the actors, were analyzed and then rated. The analysis of associative networks of relevant stimuli made it possible to draw conclusions about the perception.

2.3. Procedures

• Content selection and cleaning (filtering).

Data processing was carried out using the method of random Markov fields and its modification—the method of Conditional Random Fields (CRF). The CRF method, like the Maximum Entropy Markov Models (MEMM) method, refers to discriminative probabilistic methods, in contrast to generative methods such as Hidden Markov Models (HMM) [ 41 ] or the naive Bayes method [ 42 ]. By analogy with MEMM [ 43 ], the choice of factor-signs for setting the probability of transition between states in the presence of an observed value of xt depends on the specifics of specific data, but unlike the same MEMM, CRF can take into account any peculiarities and interdependencies in the initial data. The feature vector L = {λk} is calculated based on the training sample and determines the weight of each potential function. For training and application of the model, algorithms similar to those of HMM are used: Viterbi and its variant—the “forward–backward” algorithm [ 43 , 44 ]. It is believed that the CRF method is the most popular and accurate way of extracting objects from text and can be a significant competitor to other statistical methods used in linguistic text processing [ 45 ]. For example, it was implemented in the Stanford Named Entity Recognizer project [ 46 ].

• 1.1. Isolation and extraction of artificial entities (bots were carried out using a model using neural-like elements with temporal summation of signals.
• 1.2. Content clustering was performed using dynamic network metrics, trail metrics, procedures for grouping nodes, identifying local patterns, comparing and contrasting networks, groups, and individuals from a dynamic meta-network perspective
• 2. Performing sentiment analysis.

In this study, sentiment analysis was performed using the Eureka Engine sentiment determination module. The technique is based on a statistical algorithm for conditional random CRF fields using sentiment dictionaries. Sequences of lexems are used as input data, after which the algorithm calculates the probabilities of possible sequences of tags and chooses the maximum probable one.

• 3. Performing Content Analysis.

Content analysis was performed in accordance with [ 39 , 40 ] using the AutoMap text mining tool.

• 4. Identifying key topics.

The procedures listed in paragraphs 4–6 were carried out avail of a model using neural-like elements with temporal summation of signals or corticomorphic associative memory, which made it possible to single out explicit information [ 38 ].

• 4.1. Selection and analysis of the topic structure.
• 4.2. Summarization.
• 5.1. Extraction of the semantic core (nominations with link weights of 98–100).
• 5.2. Textual analysis of the semantic core.
• 6.1. Performing an associative search.
• 6.2. Word associations

To collect data, the Brand Analytics ( https://br-analytics.ru/ ) (accessed on 30 January 2020) and Sketch Engine ( https://www.sketchengine.eu/ ) systems were used.

The verbal content was analyzed using the neural network technology TextAnalyst 2.3. ( http://www.analyst.ru/index.php?lang=eng&dir=content/products/&id=ta ) (accessed on 30 January 2020) developed by one of the article authors, A.A. Kharlamov.

ORA-LITE was used for network analysis, which is a dynamic meta-network assessment and analysis tool specifically developed ( http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/projects/ora/ ) (accessed on 30 January 2020)

Content analysis was performed using the AutoMap text mining tool ( http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/projects/automap/ ) (accessed on 30 January 2020).

For visual analytics, the Tableau platform was used ( https://www.tableau.com/ ) (accessed on 30 January 2020).

3.1. General Description of the Content

The period of the pandemic onset in Russia was selected for the study. The database was divided by type of actors into two groups by geolocation. Since the spread of the coronavirus infection in Russia began from the capital, the content was divided into two groups to ensure correct analysis: Moscow actors and actors from the Moscow region, other regions of Russia, as well as Russian-speaking actors from other countries, which were conditionally designated as regional.

Both groups of actors differ in their preferences for the digital platforms they have chosen to generate content on the coronavirus infection spread. The group of regional actors is more diverse, they used mostly messengers; the Moscow community preferred microblogging ( Figure 1 and Figure 2 ).

Digital platforms of regional actors.

Digital platforms of Moscow actors.

Analysis of the data shows a difference in the development and perception of the coronavirus topic among Moscow and regional actors. Moscow actors began discussing COVID-19 earlier and with greater intensity. The activity index of Moscow actors expressed in the number of posts per author (11.69) is 3.5-times higher than the regional index (3.33).

3.2. Content Sentiment Analysis

The content of Moscow actors is also characterized by a higher degree of negative reactions. It should be noted that the neutral cluster predominates in the database for both groups, while in the Moscow content the negative cluster is more extensive, and the positive one is nearly non-existent ( Figure 3 and Figure 4 ).

Sentiment of the regional actors’ content.

Sentiment of the Moscow actors’ content.

The sentiment features of digital footprints also indicate a greater intensity of negative emotions in the Moscow group: 29.03% of negative comments; and in the regional group only 4.39% of comments are negative ( Figure 5 and Figure 6 ).

Sentiment of digital footprints of the regional actors’ content.

Sentiment of digital footprints of the Moscow actors’ content.

3.3. Key Topics of the Content

Identification and analysis of the topic structure, summarization and content analysis made it possible to determine that the key topics of the regional content related to the pandemic in this period were as follows:

• Emergence of coronavirus infection in Moscow;
• Coronavirus spread in the Moscow region;
• Pandemic spread throughout Russia;
• Discussion of the specifics of the new disease ( Appendix A ).

In the Moscow content, the topics were more diverse:

• Discussion of the measures taken to fight the infection spread;
• Health problems that have worsened since the beginning of the quarantine;
• Criticism of the actions of the authorities regarding the fight against the coronavirus infection;
• Political issues;
• Discussion of constitutional amendments ( Appendix B ).

3.4. Core of the Semantic Network

The semantic network makes it possible to identify semantic accents that are the most significant for actors, to analyze the implicit knowledge hidden behind explicitly expressed speech structures. The core of the semantic network was identified from the nominations with link weights of 98–199.

The regional actors pay special attention to the threat of the coronavirus spread, medical problems and anti-coronavirus measures. The regional content distinguishes the discussion of the negative economic consequences of the pandemic ( unemployment ), as well as Orthodox topics ( Patriarch Kirill, Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), Synod, Sanitary Instruction of the Synod, Church ). In addition to Moscow , the cities of the Moscow Region and St. Petersburg , in the semantic network of the regional authors, the nominations of the following Russian cities have large link weights: Barnaul, Bataysk, Blagoveshchensk, Bugulma, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Volzhsky, Vologda, Vlasovo, Grigorievsk, Irkutsk, Kaluga, Kamensk-Uralsk, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kovrov, Kronshtadt, Lipetsk, Naberezhnye Chelny, Novokuznetsk, Omsk, St. Petersburg, Surgut, Taganrog, Togliatti, Tomsk, Tyumen , etc. ( Figure 7 ) (colors and sizes of shapes represent three clusters according to the weight of the vertices).

Core of the semantic network of the regional actors’ content.

In the core of the semantic network of the Moscow actors, semantic accents were identified related to the spread of the pandemic and its prevention. Muscovites are also worried about the state of medicine, the specifics of treatment, the availability of drugs, the state of hospitals, the efficiency of the Ministry of Health, the number of deaths, as well as the economic crisis and the actions of the authorities. In addition to the problems of the coronavirus infection spread, political ( zeroing, amendments, Constitution, voting, rights ) and economic issues are of great importance for the Moscow actors. It is significant that in the Moscow content there are no mentions of Russian cities at all, except for Moscow , but there are the following nominations: regions, Italy, China, Europe, USA ( Figure 8 ).

Core of the semantic network of the Moscow actors’ content.

3.5. Associative Network

The analysis of lexical associations was performed according to the results of the associative search and the construction of an associative network made it possible to identify implicatures and subtext information characterizing the attitude of the actors to certain processes and phenomena.

The data analysis revealed that Russian-speaking actors pinned their greatest hopes on government bodies during the crisis caused by the coronavirus infection spread. Meanwhile, it should be noted that a group of Moscow actors stands out among the digital communities that showed sharp negative reactions. Thus, the stimulus authority in the content of the Moscow actors has the following reactions: kremlinbots, majors, accused, amendments, criminals, gangs, weapons . The stimulus state does not cause negative reactions in both groups, as well as stimulus authority among the regional actors ( Figure 9 , Figure 10 , Figure 11 and Figure 12 ) (the size and color of the circle depends on the weights of the vertices).

Associative network for stimulus state (10/24,393), regional actors).

Associative network for stimulus state (10/2,510), Moscow actors).

Associative network for stimulus authority (10/10,946, regional actors).

Associative network for stimulus authority (10/24,393, Moscow actors).

The attitude towards the strengthening of digital transformation is almost identical in all digital communities, therefore, below are the reactions derived from the common database:

Associative network for stimulus online-services.

The highest index of 10/99,460 among digital transformations was received by online services and applications, which the actors discussed most often and intensively. It was these technological solutions that helped the city residents cope with the conditions of movement restriction and the danger of infection. The most in demand were delivery services, medical and banking services, home digital theatres, applications for schoolchildren and platforms for convening conferences. Among the IT companies that provide such services, the actors distinguish the Russian holding Yandex.

The content included the following reactions:

“(…) Russians started buying groceries more often in “neighborhood stores”: the indicator there grew by 10%; on the contrary, in large supermarkets, the volume of expenditures fell by 3%. VTB also notes an increase in expenses for home delivery of groceries and home online services (…).”

Associative network for stimulus online-medicine.

The natural high interest of the actors was aroused by the possibilities of online-medicine (the stimulus index is 10/84,101) during the pandemic. Consulting services involving digital resources at the stages of prevention, diagnosis, rehabilitation and treatment of mild forms of the disease facilitated the organization of individual medical care and a reduced burden on medical personnel to a certain extent. It should be noted that this situation is typical mainly for the city of Moscow. In the regions, the pandemic revealed the shortcomings of digital development.

“During the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014–2016, more people died from disruptions to daily health care than from the disease. Telemedicine should become more accessible and people with chronic conditions should receive medicines for three months whenever possible, in case of supply disruptions (...) preventive services should be continued.”

Associative network for stimulus distance learning.

The need to transfer the learning process to the distance learning form caused a strong reaction, especially in secondary schools, from both teachers and parents. The technical unreadiness of schools and staff and the lack of teaching materials led to a very difficult situation at the beginning of the transition to the online format. Later, the situation stabilized somewhat.

“Confusion. I can’t say it was just fear, because, as they say, it is necessary. But how to do it? How should it look like, how should all this be organized? These questions were considered, of course.”

Associative network for stimulus distance work.

The transition to distance working in a metropolis has led to the need to stay in a small enclosed space for all family members. The inability to go outside during the quarantine was especially painful for families with small children. As a result, there has been an unprecedented migration from metropolises to suburbs and small towns.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many office workers have switched over to remote work and have found that they have more stress and less time for themselves. It turned out that when they took a couple of hours every day to get to and from work, there was more freedom. The number of excessive work hours are now three hours a day on average.”

Associative network for stimulus digital pass.

The introduction of digital or electronic passes to get around the city provoked a violent reaction from the actors. It should be noted that some of the city residents showed understanding toward this innovation as a means to stop the spread of infection. Others began to actively discuss the violation of the residents’ rights and freedoms. Negative reactions were fueled by technological failures that led to the automatic issuance of fines for people who passed the registration correctly or did not leave their apartments at all.

“In Moscow, electronic passes based on 16-digit alphanumeric combinations were introduced, the issuance of which began on 13 April, and on 14 April it became known about the cancellation of almost a million of them: the reason was incorrect or inaccurate data indicated during their registration.”

Associative network for stimulus electronic pass.

“Since nothing makes a person so desperate that he/she no longer believes in anything holy and bright, as the inability to leave the house and go somewhere, by car, subway, bus, and sometimes just walk down the street or take a walk in the park. For example, in Russia, the mayor of Moscow is criticized a lot for what he did: with the onset of the viral madness, he introduced various restrictions for people who could not just go out into the street. And the electronic passes, without which it was impossible to get on any city transport, were called “the beginning of the end of the world.”

Associative network for stimulus surveillance camera.

Surveillance cameras have long been controversial in society. In August 2020, based on complaints from city residents concerning interference with their privacy, access to their biometric data and the technical security of such data in connection with the use of video cameras of the city video surveillance network with a face recognition system, RosKomSvoboda sent an official request to the Information Technology Department of the city of Moscow and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow. Later it was discovered that data from video surveillance cameras were sold on the Darknet; law enforcement officers tracked down two malefactors who turned out to be employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a criminal case was opened against them ( https://roskomsvoboda.org/post/court-fined-police-for-leak-of-biometric-data/ ) (accessed on 30 January 2020). Supporters argued that ubiquitous video surveillance makes it possible to maintain safety in an urban environment, while opponents insisted there was a violation of privacy as city residents found themselves defenseless against data leaks and sales, the collection of redundant data for profit, non-compliance or formal compliance with the law, and ineffective protection or unwillingness to protect personal data.

It is significant that during the quarantine period, data from surveillance cameras were used by both government agencies to detect violators of quarantine measures, and city residents to prove illegal actions, for example, of law enforcement agencies.

“The Investigative Committee opened two criminal cases. Alexander Konovalov, in turn, took the offensive and published two posts at once on his social networks. On the first, he showed how the security-service agents knock down the door of a restaurant and put everyone on the floor. The footage shows that some of those present in the bar took a beating with batons from the security-service agents in masks (it is unclear whether they are visitors or employees of the restaurant). The surveillance camera footage is accompanied with an emotional post.”

Associative network for stimulus Government Services.

During the period of quarantine and self-isolation, portals for the provision of electronic government services, court websites, etc. made it not possible to stop proceedings for important civil issues. Meanwhile, technical failures that occurred due to the increased load caused a negative assessment from city residents.

“The first exultation regarding the fact that the authorities finally turned around to face their citizens and began to respect their dignity and time, was replaced by disappointment and even indignation!”

4. Discussion

The crisis caused by the pandemic has led to the need to accelerate digital transformation, to find optimal solutions to overcome the negative consequences in various spheres of society. Thus, technologies that can help cope with the global threat, including drones to detect infected people, robots that replace and protect medical personnel working with infected people; and blockchain technologies to ensure the confidentiality of transactions are investigated in [ 47 ]. Artificial intelligence technologies have become in demand for predictive analytics, effective decision-making in healthcare [ 48 ] and the formation of epidemic forecasting models and control systems [ 49 ]. Intelligent systems are being actively implemented to prevent the coronavirus infection spread [ 50 ], to stop the pandemic and reduce risks [ 51 ]. To overcome the consequences of COVID-19, big data analysis tools and artificial intelligence methods are used [ 52 ], as well as technological solutions for data mining [ 53 , 54 ]. The concepts of nanotechnology in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic are presented in [ 55 ].

It is clear that the pandemic has caused enormous damage to all aspects of society. Thus, in the real sector of the Russian economy, according to a study conducted by Google, the Center for Training Leaders and Teams of Digital Transformation (RANEPA) and the Center for Advanced Management Solutions, 33% of the total number of Russian companies in the first half of 2020 suffered losses of more than 1.5 billion rubles, 46% of representatives of business structures announced a decrease in demand for their products or services. In addition, 46% of the population noted a significant reduction in income, and 33% in savings.

Meanwhile, the pandemic had a stimulating effect on the development of digital technologies: 57% of business representatives noted the acceleration of digitalization within their companies, 38% noted changes in their management culture and corporate culture, and 29% noted a reduction and reorganization of ineffective components of the business process (departments, sections, regulations, etc.).

The pace of digitalization within the corporate and public sector has increased, as well as the digitalization of processes that are less effective in the “analog” form. The introduction of digital transformation in government structures began to be perceived more positively, since responsible officials saw the real benefits of these transformations.

Society has also been forced to use digital techniques more actively. More than 33% of respondents aged 31 to 45 answered that they have started to use digital services more often. Wealthy and educated residents of metropolises are most positive about digital transformation, which implies expanding economic opportunities. Residents of small settlements express fears related to tax increases, job losses and reduced opportunities to find work in the “gray” area [ 56 ].

5. Conclusions

Analysis of data from Russian-speaking users showed that the intensification of digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic caused a controversial response from society.

As a result of the study, for the first time, materials were collected and analyzed that made it possible to determine the features of the analysis of data from a smart city, via the digital traces of residents during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city of Moscow was used as an example to analyze society’s response to the acceleration of digital transformation and its citizens’ perception of digital innovations.

The study confirmed the assumptions that the growth of social tension directly depends on the communication strategies and the tactics that government agencies choose to inform residents with during the pandemic. To prevent panic caused by the healthcare crisis and the formation of collective anger, it is necessary to establish a dialogue between the authorities and society, and to organize targeted and personal assistance that can be implemented using digital resources. Meanwhile, it should be borne in mind that technological failures of such services are extremely painful for society during the crisis period. It was also confirmed that the willingness of citizens to use new smart city technologies of directly depends on the level of trust in social institutions, authorities and technology corporations. In addition, the thesis was confirmed that prevention and protection from infection in communities play an important role in containing and controlling the spread of infection.

The most popular among actors were online services providing delivery, medical, banking services, home digital theatres, applications for schoolchildren and platforms for convening conferences. Among the IT companies that provide such services, the actors distinguish the Russian holding Yandex.

Distance learning, digital passes and surveillance cameras received the most negative reactions from actors. The need to transfer the learning process to the distance learning form caused a strong reaction, especially in secondary schools, both among teachers and students’ parents. Digital passes and surveillance cameras demonstrate how the benefits of digital technology can lead to risks of unethical use of personal data and privacy breaches. The main fears of the actors were related to fines for erroneous data from video cameras and transport related to movement around the city, as well as technological errors with passes.

Portals for the provision of electronic government services, court sites, etc., made it possible not to stop proceedings for important civil issues, but technical failures that occurred due to the increased load caused a negative assessment from city residents, especially in connection with wrongful fines.

The speed of coronavirus infection in Russia began from the capital, which explains the selection of actors of two groups in the database by type: Moscow and regional (actors from the Moscow region, other regions of Russia, as well as Russian-speaking actors from other countries). The analysis of the content showed the politicization, opposition and territorial egocentrism of the former, which is not observed among regional actors in the period under study. The reactions of Moscow users are characterized by negative perception and skepticism; regional actors are more loyal, showing more support and approval of the actions of the state structures during the first wave of the pandemic, in particular, regarding the strengthening of digital transformations.

Future directions of research may be related to identifying the reaction of society to various measures that the authorities are proposing to stop the pandemic, identifying the most effective resources for digital transformation.

Thematic structure of the content of regional actors:

Thematic structure of the content of Moscow actors

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.A.K., A.N.R. and M.P.; methodology, A.A.K., A.N.R. and M.P.; software, A.A.K.; validation, A.N.R.; formal analysis, A.N.R.; investigation, M.P.; writing—original draft preparation, M.P.; writing—review and editing, A.N.R.; visualization, M.P.; supervision, A.A.K. and A.N.R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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