Russian premier says COVID cases declining but situation still tense

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Monday that the incidence rate of coronavirus cases has declined in a number of regions but the situation with the virus in the country is still tense.

The number of cases has been declining after the introduction of non-working days in the country “on the instructions of the head of state,” Mishustin said.

However, the situation remains tense as daily figures are still high, he said at a government meeting in Moscow.

Mishustin blamed the low level of vaccination for the higher coronavirus figures, noting that at the moment, Russia's collective immunity is only 45%.

He noted that most of those who suffer severe illness from the virus are those who did not get vaccinated.

"We need to convince people to get vaccinated. This is the only way to break the chain of morbidity. It is especially important that older people are vaccinated, and the president also pays attention to this.

"Today, a vaccine is an opportunity to save a life, especially if there are already health problems. Only a doctor can tell about contraindications. It is best to consult him before refusing vaccination," he added.

For his part, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that over 246,000 people are being treated for the virus in hospitals at the moment and more than 7,000 of them are in serious condition.

Anna Popova, the head of Russia’s sanitary watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said there has been no growth in incidence rates in 43 regions but slight growth in 33 other regions and only one region -- Amurskaya Oblast -- has disturbing dynamics.

Over the past day, 38,420 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Russia, taking the overall count to 9.1 million and active cases to over 1.03 million.

Over the same period, 1,211 people died, taking the death toll to 256,597, while 27,972 won their battle against the virus, bringing recoveries to 7.81 million.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 5.1 million lives in 192 countries and regions with over 253.7 million cases reported worldwide, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.