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Coronavirus pandemic

Number of COVID-19 infections in Moscow may increase over winter holidays, expert says

The expert added that it is necessary to continue to observe the mask and gloves regime

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The number of coronavirus infections in Moscow may increase during winter holidays, Chief Medical Officer of Moscow’s Filatov Hospital Valery Vechorko told the Russia-24 TV channel on Wednesday.

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"We are ready for any development of the events. Regarding the evaluation of the situation as a whole, it is still too early to talk about any stabilization of the situation and, as we know, restrictive measures are in effect from November 13 through January 15," he said.

The expert added that it is necessary to continue to observe the mask and gloves regime as well as social distancing.

"It is possible to presume that, if our citizens won’t observe the measures we recommend, we may see an increase in incidence during winter holidays," the expert said.

According to the latest global statistics, over 55.6 mln people have been infected worldwide and more than 1.3 mln deaths have been reported. To date, 1,991,998 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 1,501,083 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 34,387 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.

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