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Social Distancing is Key to Reducing Coronavirus Spread in Russia, Says WHO Official

By Vusala Abbasova April 15, 2020

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Vujnovic stressed the importance for residents to follow government measures to achieve visible results. According to the WHO representative, it is critical to reduce the number of people transmitting the virus. / Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP

Melita Vujnovic, Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Russia, underscored the importance of social distancing to curbing the deadly coronavirus pandemic in the country as it sees a rising number of cases. 

"It is important to emphasize that the dynamics of the epidemic may depend on massive, decisive measures," RIA Novosti quoted Vujnovic as saying on Monday. "The peak will depend on how quickly the epidemic moves into another phase, namely, whether the transmission will be stopped or not."

Currently, Russia ranks as the 15th most coronavirus-hit country in the world with a total of 24,490 coronavirus cases recorded, with Moscow accounting for a vast majority of cases. According to official government data, 14,776 infections, or nearly two-thirds all nationwide cases, were seen in the Russian capital, while the city recorded 106 of the country’s 198 deaths as of Wednesday.

The novel coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, continues to spread after killing more than 133,000 people worldwide. Russia has stepped up efforts to slow the spread of the virus within its borders. Since April 1, Russian authorities have introduced lockdown measures in Moscow, the worst-hit city, as well as several other regions, however, this week Russia has observed the largest daily increase of coronavirus cases since the start of the outbreak.

In a recent interview with the Voskresny Vecher, or Sunday Evening, on the Rossiya-1 television channel, Vujnovic voiced her concerns over the careless behavior of city residents, which she said, led to the visible growth in confirmed coronavirus cases in the area. She also noted that the uptick in new cases could be explained by the fact that some people often delay to call a doctor, reported TASS.

Vujnovic stressed the importance for residents to follow government measures to achieve visible results. According to the WHO representative, it is critical to reduce the number of people transmitting the virus. To that end, everyone with respiratory symptoms should wear masks, self-isolate even from their relatives and observe hygiene rules.

"The faster and better social distancing is maintained, the better to detect cases and isolate them, including all cases of the disease in a mild form, unspecified cases, to monitor and test contact with the sick and isolate them for 15 days, the faster we will see the reduction in the number of cases," Vujnovic explained.

As most cases coronavirus symptoms start showing up within three to seven days, positive impact resulting from self-isolation measures is usually noticeable within a week after their introduction, she explained.

"I personally believe that honest and immediate compliance with the requirements by all people - of any age, in any part of Moscow - can bring results, even though there are probably people with mild symptoms of the disease," she added.

Meanwhile, Mikhail Petrovich Kirpichnikov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Dean of the Faculty of Biology at MSU, predicted on Monday that Russia will likely reach its peak towards the end of April. 

"And then we will reach a plateau, and how long it will continue is difficult to say," Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Kirpichnikov as saying. 

Kirpichnikov said it is impossible to act "softly" in dealing with the impact of the novel coronavirus. 

"Everyone who followed the softer option didn’t manage to cope with the problem so successfully," the academic concluded, recalling the need to comply with sanitary and epidemiological measures.

According to data provided by Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering, as of Wednesday, the novel coronavirus has infected more than two million people worldwide, leading to more than 133,000 deaths, with the epicenter shifting to the United States where the number of new cases and deaths continues to rise rapidly.