themoscowtimes--2020-06-13--Russia's Coronavirus Cases Surpass 520K

Russia's Coronavirus Cases Surpass 520K

Moscow lifted restrictions including compulsory travel passes on Tuesday , a move welcomed by residents who rushed out to enjoy the streets and parks .
Many other regions are lifting lockdown restrictions as Russia is preparing to hold a July 1 national vote despite the pandemic .
President Vladimir Putin is seeking public backing for constitutional amendments that would allow him to stay on at the Kremlin beyond his current term .
Critics have cast doubt on Russia 's low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting to play down the scale of the crisis .
Russia attributes its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which has identified many cases with mild or no coronavirus symptoms .
The Health Ministry is now adjusting how it reports numbers to include all deaths believed to be related to the virus even if the direct cause of death was another condition or the patient tested negative .
Moscow reported Wednesday that it saw 5,260 such deaths in May .
Former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin , a liberal politician known for his outspoken comments , said Russia 's health system requires more funds and modernization in many regions .
`` Medicine is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ norms and also it needs a serious overhaul , '' Kudrin , who heads the Audit Chamber that examines government spending , said in an interview with the state-run TASS state news agency .
`` We will carry out a check and show these figures , '' he added .
Nevertheless the economist said Russia `` is not doing a bad job with the pandemic , '' crediting the role of the military , which has built emergency facilities .

The highest number of new cases were in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Russia's fatality rate has remained low compared to other badly-hit countries, raising speculation that Moscow could be underreporting figures.
Russian authorities began easing anti-virus measures in June ahead of a massive World War II military parade in Moscow and a nationwide vote on constitutional reforms that now allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036.
Both events were initially postponed due the epidemic.
Moscow opened cinemas and theaters on Aug. 1. In the capital, masks are mandatory in stores and on public transport but not in the streets.
Several institutes in Russia are working on a coronavirus vaccine.
The Russian Defense Ministry has said it developed a "safe" vaccine following clinical trials on a group of volunteers.
The trials are ongoing, and the Defense Ministry expects clinical trials to be fully completed in the coming weeks.
AFP contributed reporting to this article.


themoscowtimes--2020-06-13--Russia More Than Doubles April Coronavirus Death Toll

Russia 's death toll has been much lower than in other countries with large outbreaks , raising questions over possible underreporting of deaths .
The capital Moscow — the nation 's worst affected city — lifted tight lockdown measures last week .
The country reported 8,706 new cases on Saturday after its number of new infections peaked in mid-May .
Officials warned that May 's death toll was likely to be even worse in Russia , which has the world 's third largest number of cases with 520,129 .
Russia on Saturday more than doubled its official coronavirus death toll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it classifies fatalities .
The April figures from Rosstat , the official statistics agency , include 1,270 deaths where the virus was the main cause .
But they now also include deaths where the victim tested positive for the virus but it was not the main cause of death .
In April there were 435 deaths where the virus had a `` significant influence '' and 617 where it was present but did not play a major role , the agency said .
The statistics also include 390 cases where the person initially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was later ruled to be the main cause of death .
The previously announced toll for April was 1,152 .
Russia has previously made public a total death figure of 6,829 for the pandemic , a preliminary figure based on daily counts .
Officials including First Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova have said the change in the way deaths are counted follows recommendations of the World Health Organization .
Russia had previously attributed its low death figures to mass testing and its practice of carrying out autopsies to establish cause of death .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate of 2.6 percent among those infected , Golikova said at a televised briefing on Saturday .
The death rate for May will be higher , she added .
`` The main blow will fall in May and probably the first half of June , '' she said .
`` Doctors are now fighting for citizens ' lives , especially those who are on ventilators . ''

Russia on Saturday more than doubled its official coronavirus death toll for April to 2,712 after changing how it classifies fatalities. Officials warned that May's death toll was likely to be even worse in Russia, which has the world's third largest number of cases with 520,129. The country reported 8,706 new cases on Saturday after its number of new infections peaked in mid-May. The capital Moscow — the nation's worst affected city — lifted tight lockdown measures last week. Russia's death toll has been much lower than in other countries with large outbreaks, raising questions over possible underreporting of deaths.
The April figures from Rosstat, the official statistics agency, include 1,270 deaths where the virus was the main cause. But they now also include deaths where the victim tested positive for the virus but it was not the main cause of death. In April there were 435 deaths where the virus had a "significant influence" and 617 where it was present but did not play a major role, the agency said. The statistics also include 390 cases where the person initially tested negative to coronavirus, but it was later ruled to be the main cause of death. The previously announced toll for April was 1,152. Russia has previously made public a total death figure of 6,829 for the pandemic, a preliminary figure based on daily counts. Officials including First Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova have said the change in the way deaths are counted follows recommendations of the World Health Organization. Russia had previously attributed its low death figures to mass testing and its practice of carrying out autopsies to establish cause of death. The new April figure represents a death rate of 2.6 percent among those infected, Golikova said at a televised briefing on Saturday. The death rate for May will be higher, she added. "The main blow will fall in May and probably the first half of June," she said. "Doctors are now fighting for citizens' lives, especially those who are on ventilators."


themoscowtimes--2020-06-14--Putin Criticizes U.S. Coronavirus Response, Says Protests Show ‘Deep-Seated Internal Crises’

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the U.S. anti-racism protests were a sign of deep crises in the country , in his first comments on the situation .
`` What has happened is a sign of some deep-seated internal crises , '' Putin said in an interview with Rossiya 1 television , asked to comment on events in the U.S. in recent days .
He linked the unrest to the coronavirus pandemic , saying : `` It shows there are problems .
Things connected to the fight with the coronavirus have shone a spotlight on general problems . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ extract from the interview , to be broadcast in full Sunday evening , billed as Putin 's first interview since the start of the pandemic .
He contrasted the virus situation in the U.S. and Russia , saying that while `` we are exiting the coronavirus situation steadily with minimal losses , God willing , in the States it is n't happening that way . ''
Russia on Sunday confirmed 8,835 new virus cases , taking its total to 528,964 , the third highest in the world , while the U.S. has the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2.07 million .
Putin criticized a lack of strong leadership on the virus situation in the U.S. , saying that `` the president says we need to do such-and-such but the governor somewhere tells him where to go . ''
`` I think the problem is that group interests , party interests are put higher than the interests of the whole of society and the interests of the people . ''
In Russia , `` I doubt anyone in the government or the regions would say 'we 're not going to do what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says , we think it 's wrong , ' '' Putin said of the virus strategy .

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the U.S. anti-racism protests were a sign of deep crises in the country, criticizing the protests for sparking violence, and raising questions over Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Russian leader stressed he supported black Americans’ struggle for equality, calling this “a long-standing problem of the United States,” but spoke out against “mayhem and rioting.” “If this fight for natural rights, legal rights, turns into mayhem and rioting, I see nothing good for the country,” Putin said in an interview with state-run TV channel Rossiya-1 to be broadcast in full Sunday evening. "We always in the U.S.S.R. and in modern Russia had a lot of sympathy for the struggle of African-Americans for their natural rights," he insisted. But Putin added that “when — even after crimes are committed — this takes on elements of radical nationalism and extremism, nothing good will come of this.”
The Russian leader went on to say the pulling down of statues in Europe and the U.S. was “undoubtedly a destructive phenomenon,” and suggested that African-American protesters wanted only African-American doctors to treat them — adding this would be impossible in “multi-ethnic Russia.” The Russian television channel has posted an extract from the interview, billed as Putin’s first interview since the start of the pandemic. Putin has rode out much of the coronavirus pandemic from his residence outside Moscow and has drawn criticism for keeping a relatively low profile during the pandemic. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin was appointed to lead the government’s coronavirus task force, and there have been reports of friction between him and Putin over Russia’s strategy to deal with the coronavirus. In the interview, Putin connected the protests in the U.S. to poor handling of the pandemic, pointing to “deep-seated internal crises.” “It shows there are problems. Things connected to the fight with the coronavirus have shone a spotlight on general problems.” He contrasted the virus situation in the U.S. and Russia, saying that while “we are exiting the coronavirus situation steadily with minimal losses, God willing, in the States it isn’t happening that way.”


themoscowtimes--2020-06-14--Russia's Coronavirus Cases Surpass 525K

Russia's Coronavirus Cases Surpass 525K