MOSCOW, July 15./TASS/. The level of herd immunity to COVID-19 in Russia now stands at roughly 26%, Anna Popova, who heads the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, told a session of the Presidium of the Government Coordination Council to control the incidence of the coronavirus in the Russian Federation on Wednesday.

"As of now, we see that immunity does exist, and the level of herd immunity in the country is about 26%," Popova said. She specified that major cities show the highest figures, which is "based on specific features of the epidemic process". "The maximum figures of collective immunity in children is up to 42% among the examined kids under six years of age, and up to 38% in the age group between seven and 13," she said, adding that this segment of the population showed the lowest numbers of coronavirus cases and incidence of illness.

According to the latest statistics, over 13,477,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 581,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 7,870,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, 746,369 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 523,249 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 11,770 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.