COVID-19 came late to Russia but it is definitely here now.
The case numbers have spiked sharply, quadrupling over the past 10 days to propel Russia into the top 10 most infected countries worldwide with cases in every Russian region, though the epicentre is still in Moscow.
The death rate is low.
As of Monday, the regulator Rospotrebnadzor had recorded more than 47,000 cases with just 405 deaths.
Russia closed its border with China at the end of January and watched as the virus worked its way around the globe, seemingly with scant interest in the largest country on earth.
That should have given the Kremlin time to absorb lessons learnt the hard way elsewhere.
Now comes the reckoning. Will Russia go the way of Germany, with mass testing and a low mortality rate, or will it fare less well?
Russian healthcare is not on a par with Germany’s, but if “test, test, test” is the key to fighting this virus, then Russia has worked hard to scale up capacity.
The regulator says it has carried out a massive two million tests, over 100,000 a day now across a network of state and private laboratories. The UK is aiming to reach that figure by the end of April at the earliest.
There is a wealth of testing offerings. Online retailer Ozon is selling home tests to Moscow residents for 4.9 thousand roubles, just over £50.
Technology giant Yandex, which has a ubiquitous taxi and delivery arm, has announced a special service to ferry laboratory staff to the homes of over-65 year olds to test them for COVID-19.
A number of private laboratories offer drop-in tests for anyone not showing symptoms and who is not considered at-risk.
Sky
