MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Moscow fulfills all mandatory criteria put forth by the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), which allow the region to proceed to the first stage of softening of restrictions imposed over the coronavirus infection, TASS calculations, based on official data and statements on incidence, testing coverage and bed occupation, indicate.

On May 8, Rospotrebnadzor sent recommendations for the regions which contain criteria that act as a basis for gradual withdrawal of the restrictive measures. To commence the first stage, the following conditions must be met: infection transmission coefficient must not exceed 1, at least 50% of bed fund for the coronavirus patients must be free and the amount of daily coronavirus tests per 100,000 residents must be at least 70 per day.

The decision on gradual withdrawal of restrictions will be taken by each region’s governor individually, based on recommendations and instructions of the regional chief sanitary medic.

Transmission coefficient

To define the spread dynamics, Rospotrebnadzor recommends using the so-called transmission coefficient, which indicates the average number of people infected by a single infected until they are isolated.

According to TASS calculations based on the coronavirus prevention operational HQ data, this indicator in Moscow stays under 1 for four days in a row. On Thursday, it reached the record low level of 0.88.

Bed fund

In later April, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced that Moscow hospitals tend to 17,000 patients coronavirus patients. On May 11, Sobyanin said that the number of admittances does not increase for the third week in a row, and on May 14, he noted that the coronavirus hospitals’ load decreases.

According to Deputy Mayor Pyotr Biryukov, by May 5, 30,000 beds were repurposed for coronavirus patients and that 10,000 more were planned for retooling in the upcoming days.

Therefore, even if we presume that, after three weeks of zero growth and the following decrease, the bed load stays at 17,000, this is still less than 50% occupied beds out of 40,000.

Tests

From a testing coverage standpoint, Moscow also complies with the Rospotrebnadzor criteria. On May 2, Sobyanin announced that Moscow ramped lab testing for coronavirus up to 40,000 PCR tests per day. According to the Russian Federal State Statistic Service data, there were 12,678 million people in Moscow by January 1, 2020.

Therefore, at least 315 coronavirus tests per 100,000 residents are performed in Moscow every day.

By this criterion, Moscow actually fulfills requirements for the third stage of restrictions withdrawal. On Thursday, Sobyanin announced that Moscow plans to increase the testing rate to 200,000 tests per day.

The first stage

If the necessary criteria are met, Rospotrebnadzor considers it possible to restore operation of the services industry and the non-grocery retail at sites with area of up to 400 square meters, to allow outdoors physical training and walks of groups of up to two people with social distancing measures. However, children playgrounds must stay closed.

During all stages of restrictions withdrawal, self-isolation regime remains for people aged over 65 and people with chronic diseases. Wearing medical masks and gloves in public places and social distancing are mandatory.

Besides, Rospotrebnadzor suggests taking fatality rate, non-hospital pneumonia incidence and the rate of people with immunity to the coronavirus as additional indicators for decision-making.