By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Country update

The Russian Ministry of Health has reported through May 26, 362,342 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 3,807 deaths. Some 131,000 people have recovered from their illness.

More than 9 million tests for the virus have been performed.

The city of Moscow has reported 169,303 cases, followed by the Moscow region (35,163) and St. Petersburg (14,076).

The Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Murashko addressed the 73rd World Health Assembly recently saying, “The set of measures being implemented by the Russian Federation prevented the explosive spread of COVID-19 within the country.

“For this, broad anti-epidemic measures were taken – a day-off regime lasting one and a half months was introduced and large-scale population testing was organized – more than 150 thousand tests are carried out daily and they increase daily. A mass information campaign has been organized.

“To provide timely medical care, over 1.4 million specialists were quickly retrained, more than 130 thousand specialized medical beds were deployed, including those with intensive care, medical personnel are provided with personal protective equipment, although at the initial stage we experienced difficulties.

“The measures taken allowed to achieve one of the lowest mortality rates.

“Test systems are being produced in Russia, there are more than 20 of them today. Full-cycle drugs are being developed that are already available for clinical practice. Intensive work is underway on vaccines for the immunoprophylaxis of the disease, a clinical trial is scheduled to begin in a month.

“A national plan to reduce restrictive measures has been prepared.”

1st positive cat

Dr Nikolay Vlasov, Deputy Head, Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Ministry of Agriculture in Moscow reported a case of SARS-CoV-2 in a cat, the first such documented case in Russia.

According to officials, the owner of the five-year-old feline brought the animal for novel coronavirus testing after consulting with a vet. A PCR analysis of swabs taken from the cat’s throat and nose revealed the presence of novel coronavirus.

At present, Rosselkhoznadzor sees no need for taking additional measures in connection with the finding.

“Right now, there are no grounds for taking measures against domestic or wild animals that might put their well-being or health at risk, or affect biodiversity,” he said.

Currently, the animal is quarantined at the place of keeping.