Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said the situation with the spreading coronavirus is “under control” in Russia after infections were “contained”.
During a government meeting, Putin said, “We were able to contain mass penetration and spread” of the pandemic”.
The situation is generally under control despite the high risk level,” he added.
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Earlier on Tuesday, Russia reported a total of 114 cases of coronavirus, up from 93 on Monday, with no fatalities.
Putin appealed to the country and the government to “act with self-awareness, organisation and care for one another,” and urged officials to provide accurate information to Russians.
The death toll due to the COVID-19 outbreak in China has increased to 3,237, authorities said on Wednesday, while the number of confirmed cases in the Asian country has risen to 80,894.
The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,894 until midnight, including 8,056 patients who were still being treated, 69,601 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,237 people who lost their lives.
Russia is “ready to use over 40,000 respiratory support systems,” she said at the meeting, adding that 106 of the cases in Russia are not severe.
On Monday, Ukraine announced shutdowns of public transport, bars, restaurants and shopping malls to stem the spread of the coronavirus after President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to act “harshly, urgently, perhaps unpopularly”.
As many as 167 confirmed cases including four deaths were reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 13 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 77 in Taiwan including one death. A total of 92 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 22 in Taiwan were discharged from hospital after recovery on Tuesday.
The novel Coronavirus outbreak has caused alarm as it has crossed global fatalities in the 2002-03 SARS epidemic.
(With inputs from agency)
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