Russian virus cases top 32,000, Putin warns of ‘very high’ risks

Russia says it has recorded 32,008 coronavirus cases, including a record 4,070 in the last 24 hours, as President Vladimir Putin warns of “very high” risks, particularly in the ill-equipped provinces.

Official figures showed more than half of the new cases were registered in Moscow and the surrounding region. So far 273 deaths have been recorded in Russia, including 41 in the last 24 hours.

Speaking during a televised video-conference with regional governors, Putin says that “the risks surrounding the epidemic’s spread are still very high, not just in Moscow but in many other Russian regions.”

Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin reports the completion of a 500-bed hospital built within weeks, which will start admitting patients Monday.

But Putin says every region must be equally prepared, even as several governors complained of a lack of medical equipment and specialist staff.

Vladimir region governor Vladimir Sipyagin says his region of 1.36 million only has 71 ventilators and half the needed resuscitation experts.

To this Putin responded that governors “are sitting there in order to overcome challenges.”

Moscow, Europe’s largest city with some 12 million inhabitants, has been under lockdown since the end of March, but officials have complained that many residents are flouting confinement rules.

— AFP