MOSCOW, November 26. /TASS/. Approximately 50% of Moscow residents have immunity to COVID-19, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Thursday.

"An option to curb the spread of the epidemic is the restrictive measures that we are taking. Secondly, it is herd immunity which all scientists and specialists speak about. The research that was carried out in Moscow shows results that we have around 50% of the population with immune response to coronavirus, cell-mediated immunity, antibodies and so on. A fairly large study in Moscow tells us that 50% of the population is more or less protected from coronavirus in theory. However, no one can guarantee that reinfection won’t happen in the future," Sobyanin pointed out.

Moscow is ranked first in Russia in coronavirus infections, as the city recorded 577,177 infections, including 6,075 in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, 428, 418 people recovered, and 8,445 patients died from COVID-19.

According to the latest statistics, more than 60.4 million people have been infected worldwide and more than 1,400,000 deaths have been reported. To date, 2,187,990 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 1,685,492 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 38,062 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.