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Coronavirus pandemic

Russia’s coronavirus spread rate surges to a new high since December

The spread rate increased to 1.07

MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. Russia’s coronavirus spread rate continued growing on Sunday, reaching 1.07, the highest figure since December 7, 2020, according to TASS estimates based on the anti-coronavirus crisis center’s data.

In Moscow, the spread rate also increased to 1.33, a new high for the Russian capital since October 7, 2020.

The figure exceeds 1 only in three out of ten Russian regions with the highest caseload. Besides Moscow, this is the Moscow Region (1.04) and the Rostov Region (1.01). In St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, the coronavirus spread rate dropped below 1, in the Irkutsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Krasnoyarsk Regions it hit 0.99, in the Archangelsk Region - 0.98, in the Voronezh Region - 0.97 and in the Sverdlovsk Region - 0.96.

The coronavirus spread rate shows the number of people one patient 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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