In a bid to cope with an increasing number of coronavirus cases, a new Moscow hospital, built in just over a month, has started to admit patients infected.
Russia confirmed 5,236 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 57,999.
Five hundred and thirteen people have been killed by the virus.
In a bid to deal with an increasing number of Coronavirus cases, a new Moscow hospital, built in just over a month, has started to admit patients infected with the deadly virus. According to worldometer, Russia currently has more than 52,000 confirmed Coronavirus cases and the deadly virus has claimed nearly 456 lives in the country. As Moscow is the worst-hit area in Russia, with nearly 30,000 cases, the city began building the hospital on its southwestern outskirts on March 12.
According to an international media outlet, the authorities used pre-fabricated materials to erect the medical facility within weeks. The new hospital has 800 beds and has already admitted approximately 20 patients. The hospital’s chief doctor, Sergei Perekhodov reportedly said that the facility was equipped to carry out more than 10,000 coronavirus tests a day and could treat patients with respiratory failure linked to the virus.
As COVID-19 is spreading rapidly across the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin also warned of ‘very high’ risk, particularly in the ill-equipped provinces. While addressing the nation last week, Putin said the risks surrounding the epidemic’s spread are still very high, not just in Moscow but in many other Russian regions. Moscow has been under complete lockdown for weeks now and the officials have also introduced a digital permit system to control movements across the city in a bid to prevent the deadly virus from spreading any further.
Russia is also in touch with the United States to fight the global health crisis. Peskov said on April 16 that Russian President thinks COVID-19 outbreak is the time for Russia and the US to ‘help each other’. While referring to the phone call between both the leaders, when the US President offered to send ventilators to Russia, Peskov called it ‘very positive’ showcase of Trump’s readiness to provide assistance. Kremlin spokesperson even added that Russia would accept the help of the US ‘if need be’.
Russia’s officially reported numbers — which are still relatively lower than those in European countries — have sparked suspicion. Experts warn that Russia’s testing capacity is hampered by bureaucracy, while officials warn that the real number of cases is likely much higher.
The majority of Russia’s cases are in Moscow. Since March 30, all of Moscow’s 12 million residents have been ordered to stay in their homes with few exceptions.
Moscow Deputy mayor Anastasia Rakova has warned the city “will face difficult weeks” ahead.
“The peak in morbidity should arrive in the next two to three weeks,” she said in a video released on social media Friday.
Under confinement rules that Muscovites have to observe until at least May 1, they are only allowed to leave their homes to go to work, walk their dogs, take out trash or visit their nearest shop.
This week city authorities tightened the lockdown by introducing a digital permit system, requiring that anyone travelling by car or public transport obtain a pass.
Russia has carried out more than 1.7 million coronavirus tests, though there have been concerns about their reliability.
Worldwide, the virus has infected over 2.5 million people.
AFP contributed reporting to this article.