MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/. COVID-19 incidence among children in Russia has surged dramatically, with nearly half of underage patients having clinical symptoms, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Tuesday. 

"Incidence among children under 18 has increased dramatically as compared with the last year. Nearly half of the cases have clinical symptoms. Correspondingly, the burden on the pediatric service has increased," he said.

According to the minister, the coronavirus incidence in general grew by 12% over that past week. "The number of active cases has grown by almost 23% since the beginning of the month and by 12% over the past week," he said, adding that measures taken in a number of regions this week and at the beginning of the previous week "have helped to slow down the epidemic process."

The most serious coronavirus situation is reported from the republics of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, and Udmurtia, the Perm territory, the Orenburg, Ivanovo, and Tyumen regions, he added.

To date, 8,060,752 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 7,040,481 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 225,325 fatalities nationwide. The Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.