And what has Russia been doing?
The Russian government has taken strong and timely measures to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19:
The health system has stepped up by strengthening its disease surveillance systems and initiating a rapid increase in testing to ensure the progressive monitoring of the epidemic’s spread. The number of tests has increased from 2,200 per day at the beginning of the crisis to 216,500 per day as of May 11.
Widespread testing, combined with contact tracing and the isolation of patients with COVID-19 in designated health facilities or at home, has been effective in containing the spread of the virus. The country has worked hard to expand the capacity of its public health and primary health care hospitals and laboratories by ensuring that the necessary personnel are in place. Many hospitals have been reorganized to house infection beds fully prepared for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, including with better equipped intensive care units. Additionally, new hospitals have been constructed in some regions, and temporary hospitals for patients with mild symptoms have been set up. More than 130,000 hospital beds have been prepared for COVID-19 patients countrywide.
Enhanced human resources have been put in place, ensuring that there are enough frontline health workers who are well trained in the early detection and treatment of COVID-19 and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The network of epidemiologists supporting case investigation and contact tracing at the local and regional levels has been strengthened. Salaries for health workers who treat COVID-19 patients have been increased.
The government has leveraged the private sector for the swift manufacture of ventilators, other medical equipment, and PPE.
For effective communication with the public, continuous online education programs and mass media efforts on COVID-19 prevention measures have been launched. The Ministry of Health, Rospotrebnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare), and regional health authorities have established call centers to answer questions and provide guidance on COVID-19. The government has also established a communication center
«СТОПКОРОНАВИРУС.РФ» that presents a variety of topical information.
The health system response has varied across the country. There have been several serious outbreaks, in particular, in health facilities in a number of regions. Lack of testing capacity, ineffective contact tracing and lack of personal protective equipment for health workers are likely to have contributed to these COVID-19 outbreaks.
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Policy Response to Combating the Spread of the Epidemic in Russia
They rank #59 Cases, mil & #52 Deaths/mil
