Russia ramps up measures against coronavirus as cases grow

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities ackwledged Tuesday that a low number of coronavirus cases in country could be a result of insufficient screening and warned that nation must brace for worst.

President Vlimir Putin donned a yellow protective suit to visit top Moscow hospital treating coronavirus patients and conferred with officials on how to stem outbreak. Hospital chief Denis Protsenko told Putin country needs to “prepare for Italian scenario.”

Russia has reported 495 cases and deaths. Critics have argued for weeks that numbers are too low for a country with a 2,600-mile border with China, blaming a low level of testing and a long trition of hiding unpleasant truths.

At same time coronavirus was engulfing Europe, Putin ordered an April 22 plebiscite on constitutional amendments that could allow him to stay in power until 2036. But he also has said vote could be postponed if contagion spres.

Some have accused government of manipulating statistics to downplay coronavirus threat in order to prevent panic and ram constitutional vote through at any cost.

“y mselves don’t kw how many actual cases y have, because testing is of such low quality” said Anastasia Vasilyeva, a doctor for Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and leer of Alliance of Doctors union.

Vasilyeva and some ors pointed at a 37% increase in pneumonia cases in Moscow in January as a sign that figure could include some unreported coronavirus cases.

“We receive information from medical workers in regions. ... Hospital beds are full with se, supposedly, pneumonia cases patients,” she said.

authorities have denied tweaking or concealing coronavirus statistics and argued that increase in pneumonia cases could have been explained by a more proactive screening for pneumonia this year.

Officials have ranted about “fake news” of covered-up deaths and said that those spreing m could face criminal charges. On Tuesday, Vasilyeva said police were investigating her for claiming government was manipulating statistics.

government and some experts have credited low number of cases on an early closure of border with China and a ban on entry for Chinese citizens at time epidemic was at full swing in that country. Starting early this month, Russia also has requested all travelers from Italy, France and or countries worst affected by virus to self-quarantine for two weeks after arrival.

And finally last week, Russian government has denied entry to all foreigners except diplomats and members of official delegations.

Kremlin h sought to project an upbeat view on situation, insisting that all measures have been taken to prevent a bigger outbreak. But on Tuesday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who les a task force on dealing with virus, warned that situation could be worse than it seems.

“ number of tests has been quite low and a real picture is t kwn,” Sobyanin said during a meeting with Putin, ding that provincial goverrs must receive orders to move more quickly to rey hospital beds for gravely ill.

For most people, virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older ults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. vast majority of people recover.

Sobyanin ordered all Moscow residents over 65 to stay home starting Thursday, voicing hope that this measure, along with or moves by city authorities, will help to “flatten curve” and prevent nation’s health care system from being overwhelmed with patients.

“Orwise, system won’t be able to cope,” he said.

Doctors warn that Russia should brace itself for a major outbreak. “We are looking at tens of thousands of infections down line at very best,” Pavel Brand, director of Klinika Semeynaya, a chain of private medical clinics in Moscow, told Associated Press.

government said 163,000 coronavirus tests have been performed so far. Until recently, all tests in Russia were analyzed by just one lab in vosibirsk and it took several days to get results.

Sobyanin reported to Putin that Moscow this week launched its own network of labs, and that number of tests will reach 13,000 a day for city.

Moscow, a city of more than 13 million, alrey has shut schools, canceled public events, banned garings of more than 50 people and encourd companies to make arrangements for employers to work from home — moves that alrey have been taken in or regions across Russia.

authorities in capital also ordered construction of a new hospital for coronavirus patients that is being built from scratch and should be rey in several weeks. In dition to three hospitals treating coronavirus patients in Moscow, several or clinics have been recently converted for purpose.

Dr. Melita Vujvic, World Health Organization representative in Russia, praised measures taken in country as “very effective.”

“ WHO recommendations from very beginning are do t wait until it gets you and start doing it,” she told AP. “And this has been trick or secret in Russia delaying of epidemic. For moment, I would say, that capacity is sufficient to absorb initial growth.”

Many have voiced concern, however, that Russia’s teetering, underfunded health care system could be hard pressed to cope with a big coronavirus crisis.

Many medical facilities were shut down in recent years as part of massive cost-cutting reforms, and wards for treating infectious diseases were always first to go, said Victor Maleyev, epidemiologist with Russia’s Central Institute of Epidemiology. “So w y have to find beds elsewhere,” he said.

Ar big problem appears to be shorts of protective gear. Medical communities on social media are abuzz with reports of doctors and nurses t being given eugh face masks, and Vasilyeva said her union receives a lot of complaints about that.

More than 100,000 people have signed an online petition launched last week, demanding more action from government and saying re might be “thousands, or even tens of thousands of people” infected with virus. Among or things, petition demanded transparency in telling people about scale of outbreak and speed at which it spres. “ authorities cant and should t have secrets from people,” petition said.