Russia’s COVID Performance Is Perhaps the World’s Best
March 28, 2020 in News by RBN Staff
source: russia-insider.com
ER Editor: We cannot resist adding a piece from Zerohedge today titled Watch: Putin Dons Hazmat Suit In Rare Visit To Covid-19 Patients. Our featured meme is compiled of these images.In the past few days, Putin has also sent a team of virologists and other medical staff and equipment to Italy. See Russia sends critical aid to Italy, as Merkel goes into self-quarantine (Video) and A Closer Look at Russia’s Mobile Biological Laboratory, Deployed to Italy [VIDEO]. . Eric Zuesse below mentions the specific, timely measures Russia took to have the very low rate of infection and death it does today. The cheesy phrase ‘like a boss’ springs to mind with Putin, but he really is.
Russia’s performance is perhaps the world’s best.
On March 22nd, CNN headlined “Why does Russia, population 146 million, have fewer coronavirus cases than Luxembourg?” (that’s a country of 628,000 people) and reported that
Russia’s early response measures — such as shutting down its 2,600-mile border with China as early as January 30, and setting up quarantine zones — may have contributed to the delay of a full-blown outbreak, some experts say.
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to criticism over the number of recorded cases.
A strong record on testing
“The director-general of WHO said ‘test, test, test,’” Dr. Melita Vujnovic, the World Health Organization’s representative in Russia, told CNN Thursday. “Well, Russia started that literally at the end of January.”
Vujnovic said Russia also took a broader set of measures in addition to testing.
“Testing and identification of cases, tracing contacts, isolation, these are all measures that WHO proposes and recommends, and they were in place all the time,” she said. “And the social distancing is the second component that really also started relatively early.”
Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s state consumer watchdog, said Saturday that it had run more than 156,000 coronavirus tests in total. By comparison, according to CDC figures, the United States only picked up the pace in testing at the beginning of March.
