© Sputnik/Anton DenisovMasked in Moscow
The top official at Russia's state health watchdog believes that there is no point in suspending the economy to fight coronavirus. Anna Popova's comments came after the Kremlin said
a second lockdown isn't even being considered.Speaking at a coronavirus event at well-known university RANEPA, on Tuesday,
Rospotrebnadzor boss Anna Popova explained that Russia has quite a low rate of Covid-19 per capita, and therefore there is
no sense in taking drastic measures. Currently, there are few restrictions in the world's largest country with bars, restaurants, and shops open as usual.
"Despite the fact that we see a growth in cases, today, in Russia, we are not talking about blocking the economy," Popova said. "We do not see any point in it."
In addition, she noted that
Covid-19 testing has not dropped off at any point, even during the summer. Statistics from the country's official coronavirus center show that Russia has carried out over 51 million tests, fourth globally, behind the three most populated countries, China, the US, and India.
According to Popova, over the last week, the
average daily rate for new coronavirus cases is eight per 100,000 people. This is much better than in other countries such as Israel (54), France (28), and the Netherlands (27), which are all more than three times worse.
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