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Coronavirus pandemic

Russia’s coronavirus spread rate drops below 1 for first time since April 2

The indicator currently stands at 0.97

MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. Russia’s coronavirus spread rate dropped below 1 to 0.97 in the past twenty-four hours for the first time since April 2, according to TASS estimates based on the anti-coronavirus crisis center’s data released on Wednesday.

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The coronavirus spread rate is below 1 in eight out of ten Russian regions with the largest number of COVID-19 cases, except for the Sverdlovsk and Voronezh regions, where it equals 1.03 and 1, respectively, the latest data show.

The coronavirus spread rate equals 0.99 in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Rostov and Krasnoyarsk regions, 0.98 in the Arkhangelsk and Moscow regions, 0.96 in the Irkutsk Region and has dropped to 0.89 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the lowest level since March 31, the estimates show.

The coronavirus spread rate shows the number of people one sick person can infect before being isolated. Along with other criteria, it was used to define the regions’ readiness for a step-by-step removal of restrictions introduced last spring to combat the epidemic. Now this rate is used to adopt decisions on resuming regular passenger service with foreign countries.

In accordance with the Federal Service for Surveillance of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing’s recommendations, the borders with a country may be opened if the coronavirus spread rate does not exceed 1 for a week.

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