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MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (May 14) that the coronavirus crisis was easing in Russia as the number of new daily cases fell below 10,000 for the first time in nearly two weeks.
Health officials said they had recorded 9,974 new infections in the past 24 hours, bringing Russia’s count to 252,245, the second highest in the world after the United States, with a total of 2,305 deaths.
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But the number of new cases has decreased and Thursday’s count was the first below 10,000 since May 2.
“In the past few weeks, all of our efforts have been directed primarily at fighting the coronavirus epidemic,” Putin said in a televised video conference with scientists and officials.
But, he added, “the situation is changing now, and this gives us an opportunity to focus once again on our current and long-term agenda.”
This week, the Kremlin began easing a national blockade to stem the spread of the virus, despite the steady increase in infections.
READ: Moscow says it attributed more than 60% of COVID-19 deaths in April to other causes
Putin’s meeting focused on genetic research and plans for Russia to launch three top research centers in the field.
Rinat Maksyutov, head of the Vektor State Center for Virology and Biotechnology, told Putin at the meeting that investigations were underway into various possible coronavirus vaccines.
The top-secret laboratory complex in Siberia has developed six prototype vaccines, and Maksyutov told Putin that “three promising” had been chosen for the next stage of preclinical studies.
He said he hoped to be able to register an experimental coronavirus vaccine in September.
“I am counting on his work to be done … and registration of this coronavirus vaccine will take place in September,” Putin told Maksyutov.
MOSCOW LAUNCHES ANTIBODY TESTS
Putin said the research center needed to guarantee its intellectual property rights over the vaccine.
It was unclear if he meant that a vaccine should be ready for use in September.
The Vektor Laboratory conducted secret biological weapons research in the Soviet era and stores viruses ranging from Ebola to smallpox.
Several senior Russian officials have tested positive for the coronavirus, including Putin’s spokeswoman, but Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova said Thursday that she had fully recovered.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and the construction minister were also infected, and Putin said Thursday that Education Minister Valery Falkov had tested positive but was no longer infected.
Russia says its large number of cases is due in part to a massive testing campaign that has carried out six million tests.
Moscow accounts for about half of all infections, and the city said it will launch massive voluntary antibody tests starting Friday, with 70,000 invitations to be sent every three days.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the massive random tests are important to gauge when to further ease containment measures, which were ordered in the Russian capital in late March and until the end of this month.
Despite its large number of cases, Russia’s official coronavirus mortality rate is low compared to countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Italy, and Spain.
Authorities say this is because Russia was able to learn lessons from Western European experiences, act quickly to isolate travelers and people at risk, and launch a major campaign to assess and quarantine those infected.
But critics have questioned the figures, accusing authorities of underestimating the virus-related deaths by blaming other causes.
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