MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. In terms of the COVID incidence Russia may in the next two weeks surpass France, where they register over 400,000 cases daily, Director General of the DNKOM Center for Molecular Genetic Studies Andrey Isayev told TASS.
"The forecast of 100,000-200,000 cases per day in Russia is not the most pessimistic, it is average. In fact, these figures can be even higher. Even in France, with a population 2.5 times smaller and better vaccination rates, there are more cases. In the next two weeks, we can overtake France," he said.
In his opinion, the number of cases of covid in this wave will exceed all past indicators.
"In terms of the number of those vaccinated in the risk group, I would say that Russia is poorly prepared for this wave. Even some African countries have already caught up with our country in this indicator. The reasons are weak medical propaganda and distrust of the population in healthcare in Russia, as well as the low level of citizens' concern for their health. Although in the last six months it seems that the trend is breaking: even the most skeptical patients are getting the idea that vaccination is the best solution," he concluded.
For several weeks, an extremely high level of Covid morbidity has been maintained in France amid the spread of the Omicron strain in the country. On January 18, a record daily increase of 464,000 new cases was registered.