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MOSCOW – For the seventh consecutive day, Russia More than 10,000 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded Saturday, totaling nearly 200,000, authorities said. The world’s largest country by area now has 198,676 cases detected, 10,817 of which were recorded in the past 24 hours. Russia is the fifth most affected country in terms of contagion, after the United States, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom. In the midst of the pandemic, Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated Victory Day in moderation.
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With 1,827 deaths, 104 of them in the last 24 hours, statistically the number of deaths remains small compared to other European countries.
In a speech broadcast to the country, Putin sent a message of unity as the Kremlin tries to contain the disease, and the president seeks to maintain its popularity. The date, marking the Soviet triumph over Nazi Germany in 1945, is one of Russia’s most revered public events and gives Putin a platform to promote patriotism, one of the pillars of his popular support. But the coronavirus outbreak forced him to postpone the main highlight, a large annual parade on Moscow’s Red Square that showcases Russia’s most sophisticated military equipment.
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“Our veterans have fought for life and against death, and we will always try to live in accordance with their spirit of unanimity and resistance,” Putin said after placing a bouquet of red roses at the Eternal Flame war memorial near the Kremlin. – We are united by our memory, hopes and aspirations, as well as by a shared sense of responsibility for the present and the future. We know and firmly believe that when we are together, we are invincible.
In his first public appearance in weeks, Putin, looking gloomy, conducted a much more discreet ceremony, but made it clear that he still plans to hold the usual parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory at the right time.
Russian authorities say the increasing number of cases in the past week is explained by the multiplication of tests carried out (5.2 million, according to data published on Saturday) and not by an acceleration of the spread. This would explain the reduced mortality rate.
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But some people in Russia question this interpretation and the accuracy of mortality statistics. Michael Ryan, executive director of emergency health affairs for the World Health Organization (WHO), said on Friday that “Russia probably suffers from an epidemic with a late effect.” Moscow, the main focus of the Russian epidemic with 104,189 cases and 1,010 deaths, extended the closure until May 31.
