Nearly 1,000 passengers were kicked out of public transport during the morning rush hour on the first day of the application of Covid digital passes in the city of Kazan in central Russia, authorities say noted On Monday.

The Republic of Tatarstan was one of the first Russian regions to impose QR codes to access public places as the country battles the fourth and deadliest wave of the pandemic to date. The passes, which prove his vaccine status, a negative PCR test result, or a recent recovery from Covid-19, are an attempt to entice the hesitant population to receive the vaccine.

Skirmishes exploded on the new rules, resulting in significant delays, multiple arrests and hospitalizations of bus drivers in the city of 1.2 million.

The Kazan Transport Authority said 786 passengers had been kicked from trams and trolleybuses and 126 from metro stations by mid-Monday.

Police arrested at least five people, the Metroelectrotrans Kazan company said on its social media page.

A number of bus drivers were hospitalized after being beaten and sprayed with pepper, Kazan mayor’s office noted.

Tatarstan’s Business Online news agency also reported higher taxi fares and shortages of carsharing services related to QR requirements.

The Kremlin said on Monday that transport problems are inevitable as the public adapts to the new rules and expressed hope that the problems will be resolved soon.

The transport crisis in Kazan comes as Russian lawmakers rush to impose vaccine passports for public transport, restaurants and non-essential stores in a bid to tackle deep-seated vaccine hesitations.

The Russian parliament is expected to adopt the QR code requirements, which will take effect from February 1 to June 1, 2022, next month.