Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin chaired a meeting of the Presidium of the Coordination Council under the Government to combat the spread of COVID-19, during which he noted the rapid deterioration of the situation with coronavirus in the world, primarily due to the spread of a new strain, and stressed the need to be ready for any development events.

In turn, the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova said that in the event of an unfavorable development of the situation with coronavirus and non-compliance with epidemiological requirements, the number of detected cases in Russia may increase to six-digit numbers. 

Mishustin stressed that timely testing plays an important role in combating the spread of the virus, which allows you to start treatment faster and protect you from the risk of infecting other people, as well as vaccination against COVID-19.

“There are all the possibilities so that residents of every Russian subject - and the president is closely watching this - could get vaccinated for free.

If the time has come, then again.

This is still the most reliable way to combat the spread of infection, ”he stressed.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that over the past New Year holidays in the capital, there was no critical increase in the incidence.

At the same time, he also noted that in neighboring states there is an explosive increase in the incidence due to the new omicron strain.

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“In Moscow, unfortunately, a significant number of patients with the omicron strain have already appeared.

And this number is growing rather quickly.

This means that we are really also at risk and within 7-10 days, I think, we will observe a significant increase in the incidence, ”Sobyanin said.

Against this background, he noted the need to mobilize the health care system, strengthen control over the implementation of the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor and involve the population for vaccination.

“It is possible that we will face a more critical situation than the one faced in previous waves of disease.

Let's hope for the best, but prepare for any development of events, ”the mayor emphasized.

The head of the Ministry of Health Mikhail Murashko also drew attention to the difficult situation regarding coronavirus in a number of countries.

He noted that in some states the number of new cases reaches more than a million per day, and therefore in Russia the preparedness system is being deployed in full.

“We keep 30% of beds today in reserve, with the possibility of deployment.

Today we have 114 thousand patients on hospitalization, 16 thousand patients are in serious condition, almost 3.8 thousand patients are on artificial lung ventilation, ”Murashko said.

He also stressed that restrictive and preventive measures, in particular vaccination, are key factors in curbing the explosive growth in the incidence of the population.

The minister said that a joint study by the Gamalea Center and the Italian Institute of Spallanzani showed that revaccination of patients with Sputnik Light helps protect against the omicron.

In addition, according to Murashko, the statements that the omicron is not as severe as the delta strain does not correspond to reality.

“The intensive care units in covid hospitals and, in general, beds (we are in contact with our colleagues abroad) are full, and, of course, unvaccinated patients make up the majority of those hospitalized,” the minister said.

“I urge citizens to undergo vaccinations and timely revaccinations.

It's simple and safe, ”said Murashko.

Meanwhile, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said that in the first week of the new year, the incidence of COVID-19 decreased by 19.4%.

At the same time, the department is observing signs of a worsening epidemiological situation, which are that in 35 regions the incidence rate exceeds the national average, she said.

Speaking about the spread of the omicron strain, she noted that if we compare the number of countries that have identified it in themselves, and the number of observations, “this is an increase of 9 times since December 20”.

“At the same time, the number of cases of coronavirus on January 10, for example, in the United States of America amounted to 308 thousand per day, in France - 296 thousand per day, in Italy - 155 thousand per day, in Great Britain - 141 thousand per day. ...

Of course, this is an explosive growth, and it is due to the highly contagious strain "omicron", - said Popova.

According to her, at the moment in the national database of the Russian Federation there is information about 305 citizens in whom the "omicron" was identified.

This strain was found in 13 Russian regions - Moscow, Moscow region, Rostov region, St. Petersburg, Perm region, Murmansk, Leningrad, Oryol, Orenburg regions, Republic of Bashkortostan, Ingushetia, Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod regions.

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“Already today there is a fairly widespread identification of the omicron strain on the territory of the Russian Federation.

This once again underlines the risks that have already been spoken about today and which are absolutely real today on the territory of Russia - the risks of a very intensive increase in cases of the disease, ”Popova noted.

According to the head of the department, Russian scientists have already proven that the omicron strain is more infectious than all previous variants of the coronavirus, it also has a shorter incubation period, and it spreads faster.

“What we see today, unfortunately, creates a pessimistic forecast for a possible increase in the number of detected cases associated with COVID-19, up to six-digit figures in the Russian Federation in case of unfavorable development, as I said, and in case of non-compliance with those requirements we have been talking about for two years already, ”Popova emphasized.