MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/. There is moderate hope that the curve of the novel coronavirus infection in Russia has started to flatten, but the self-isolation regime must nevertheless be strictly observed until May 11, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with RTVI.

When asked whether the number of cases in Russia has started to plateau, the Kremlin spokesman said "this is what everyone would like to see."

"We can timidly hope for that, it’s better to stay optimistic," he added.

"However, in many aspects, the situation will depend on how disciplined we would be and [on whether] we stay at home during the May holidays, in other words, on how we observe the self-isolation regime until May 11," Peskov said.

He went on to say that, despite certain optimism, Russia continues its active effort to prepare regional healthcare facilities and increase the number of hospital beds.

The spokesman also called for finding the "delicate balance" between relying on people’s self-discipline and toughening restrictions.

Humanitarian disaster averted

Russia has managed to avoid the negative novel coronavirus scenario and a humanitarian disaster caused by the health system overload due to proper measures taken, Peskov said.

"Thanks God, there was no humanitarian catastrophe in none of the Russian regions. To our deep regret, the humanitarian disaster struck several US states, first of all New York. This is very sad," he said.

The spokesman went on to say that a great number of deaths and the healthcare system overload "is something that was avoided in the Russian Federation, primarily in Moscow," which was the first to face a massive novel coronavirus outbreak.

"We managed to avert the catastrophic scenario," he said. "This did not occur by itself, or by miracle, this happened as a result of the measures taken."

"A lot was done thanks to actions of both the federal [crisis] center and the regional authorities, such as increasing the number of hospital beds in all regions to help the healthcare system withstand abrupt increases in [the number of] patients," Peskov said, adding that sporadic crisis situations in this or that region "are being promptly resolved."

Russian statistics

Peskov denied claims that the novel coronavirus statistics in Russia could be underreported. 

"Undoubtedly, some differences in data from various agencies are possible and cannot be ruled out. However, in general, I trust them and think that there is no reason not to trust [the statistics]," he said, adding that "no country is expected to give precise figures in a situation of this kind, this is simply impossible."

When asked whether he was sure that Russia’s statistics is not underreported, Peskov replied: "yes, I’m sure."

Speaking about the quality of novel coronavirus tests, the spokesman said that presidential administration staff members "undergo frequent [coronavirus] testing, due to the functions that they perform."

"Naturally, every test has a margin of error, a certain degree of accuracy," he added. "There are Chinese tests, which are way worse [than Russian ones], there are European tests, which are better [than Russian ones], and there are Russian tests, which are way better than the majority of its foreign rivals.".