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Coronavirus pandemic

St. Petersburg has high COVID-19 lethality rate due to large share of seniors, says expert

According to recent data, St. Petersburg has documented 159,389 cases of COVID-19. It ranks second after Moscow on the amount of coronavirus cases

ST. PETERSBURG, December 9. /TASS/. St. Petersburg has reported a high COVID-19 lethality rate due to the fact that the city has a large share of senior population, Deputy Director of Russia’s Central Research Institute of Epidemiology Alexander Gorelov told reporters on Wednesday.

"There is an easy explanation [for the high lethality rate]. If we look at the age structure of the Petersburg population, it differs significantly from other regions, where the population is younger. Based on the statistics from recent years, there is a large share of seniors in Petersburg. We know that people over 65 are a high-risk group, and the infection lasts longer and causes more severe symptoms if there is a pre-existing condition," he said.

According to recent data, St. Petersburg has documented 159,389 cases of COVID-19. It ranks second after Moscow on the amount of coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, 89,890 patients have recovered in St. Petersburg and 6,030 have died. In the past 24 hours, 3,761 COVID-19 cases have been documented in St. Petersburg, which is the highest figure since the start of the pandemic.

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