MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. From 30 to 50% of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who are in intensive care units die, mortality rate among patients on ventilators is even higher - from 50 to 88%, Russian Health Ministry’s chief consulting pulmonologist Sergei Avdeev told reporters on Wednesday.

"If we take the mortality rate in intensive care units for patients on mechanical ventilation, we see no substantial differences between countries. Unfortunately, the mortality rate [of coronavirus patients] in intensive care units is extremely high - from 30 to 50%. The mortality rate of patients on mechanical ventilation is even higher, unfortunately - from 50 to 88%. These are unprecedentedly large numbers," he said.

To date, 789,190 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 572,053 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 12,745 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.