Putin warns of potential 2nd wave of Covid-19 infections in the fall, tells Russian Health Ministry to prepare

Right now, most of the world seems to think the worst of the coronavirus epidemic has passed, with many countries beginning to come out of lockdown. But Russian President Vladimir Putin believes there may be more pain ahead.

According to Putin, the virus may once again begin to spread widely from October to November. During a meeting to discuss the epidemiological situation in Russia, he said the country needs to be ready for a second wave later in the year.

Putin added that the removal of the present restrictions in Russia must be guided by science. However, he also asked officials to prepare recommendations for dealing with the consequences of the pandemic, especially the economic repercussions.

“In order to gradually emerge from restrictions with which we still live to a large extent today, we need to think about what the experts here and their colleagues abroad are talking about, that another wave may possibly come in the fall,” Putin warned.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin insisted that he feels obliged to maintain the current lockdown in the capital, including the system of self-isolation and the control of movement using digital passes. Moscow has largely been shut down for almost two months now – since March 29.

Anna Popova, the head of health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, pointed out that the infection curve has been flattening in Russia. She praised the country’s medical system for its handling of the crisis and said the nationwide spread is showing a “clear downward trend.” Putin noted that there are now fewer new positive tests in Moscow, which has borne the brunt of the Russian outbreak.

According to official statistics, a total of 326,448 cases of Covid-19 have been found in Russia, with over half in the Moscow area. The reported death toll is 3,249 with 99,825 people known to have recovered.

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