Normal life in Moscow will resume ONLY after 60% of residents have Covid-19 immunity – official
With infection numbers starting to decrease and citizens getting itchy feet, Muscovites are wondering when life will get back to normal. According to one official, it'll be after 60 percent of the city has gained immunity.
Speaking to government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Alexey Mazus, chief freelance specialist for HIV diagnosis and treatment at Moscow's Health Department, explained how the city's coronavirus strategy was being dictated solely by science.
"We are dealing with an infection, which, according to various estimates, is three or more times more infectious than the flu. Therefore, it is important to know how many people have already been ill and have got immunity," he stated.
According to Mazus, to get out of the epidemic, around 60 percent of the population must be immune to Covid-19. He believes that once this mark has been met, those who have immunity can start working again. "This is the only way the city can return to a more-or-less normal rhythm," he concluded.
On May 15, Moscow launched a Covid-19 antibody mass-testing program. According to Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, tens of thousands of Muscovites will be tested every day to get a broader picture of the state of coronavirus in the capital. By the end of the month, Moscow will have the capacity to test more than 200,000 people daily.
On Sunday, Anna Popova, the head of Russia's health watchdog (Rospotrebnadzor), told TV channel Russia 1 that Covid-19 is finally stabilizing. "There is almost no increase from day-to-day. Stabilization has been observed throughout the country, and all regions have achieved a stabilizing situation," she said.
Also on rt.com ‘EYE’ in the sky: Russia’s National Guard launches BLIMP to spot Covid-19 lockdown violators... to mixed reviews (VIDEO)Monday's figures were further proof that the state of coronavirus in Russia has drastically improved. In the morning, the country confirmed 8,926 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest number since May 1. Overall, Russia has 290,678 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 2,722 people have died.
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