Stable contagion
The growth of new coronavirus cases in Russia is stabilizing, the head of Russia's public health watchdog, Anna Popova, said Sunday as the daily tally fell under 10,000 for the third time last week.
Popova said it was too early to say if Russians can make plans for summer travel, saying "we need to look at the next two or three weeks." Russia on Saturday announced its highest daily death rate at 119, while it has confirmed a total of 2,631 deaths.
Excess mortality
More than 13,000 people in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have contracted the coronavirus or community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), the region’s top health official said.
A total of 657 people have died from either Covid-19 or CAP, including 40 doctors, he added. According to official statistics, there have been 3,371 coronavirus infections and just 29 deaths from Covid-19 in the region.
Reverse assistance
The United States plans to donate 200 ventilators to Russia, the state-run Voice of America broadcaster reported, citing government communications it said it had obtained.
The first 50 medical ventilators made in California will reportedly be ready for shipment to a Moscow surgical center this Wednesday, and the remaining 150 on May 26. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the Washington Examiner that the ventilators and testing equipment is “on its way.”
Infected baby
A baby was born with the coronavirus in Russia's Caucasus region of North Ossetia, health officials were quoted by the state-run TASS news agency as saying on Sunday, to a mother who is also infected.
The birth in the city of Beslan follows one in mid-April in Peru, which health officials there said was the second known case of a Covid-19 positive newborn worldwide.
What bonus?
Several Russian regions have launched inspections into unpaid bonuses for medics treating coronavirus patients amid a string of public complaints from healthcare professionals. Some regions moved to pay the bonuses and others fired chief doctors accused of failing to distribute the payouts.
The Russian government allocated 22.4 billion rubles ($280 million) for additional payouts to doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers involved in the fight against Covid-19. Russia’s Investigative Committee has ordered regional branches to investigate the medics’ complaints.
Includes reporting from AFP.
