Moscow stretched 'to limit' by epidemic, tightens restrictions

The mayor of Russia's capital on Friday said the acceleration of coronavirus infections calls for tighter restrictions, as clinics in Moscow were approaching their limits. The capital has been under lockdown since March 30 but is struggling to cope with the influx of new patients, as some doctors began to question the reliability of testing methods.

In a video address, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that "the work of most city organizations will be limited or stopped" at least for the next week, including building construction. He added that the city will phase in a "permit system" next week, primarily for people still going to work, but eventually for any movement even in the neighborhood, if needed.

The densely populated capital with more than 12 million residents has the largest outbreak in Russia, with 7,822 confirmed coronavirus cases out of a national total of almost 12,000. The number in Moscow's hospitals has doubled since last week and more than 85 per cent of these patients have pneumonia, deputy mayor Anastasia Rakova was quoted as saying on the city virus task force's Telegram account.

Those who test positive but have mild symptoms are monitored through online video consultations. "Along with the growing numbers of people who are seriously ill, pressure has grown sharply on the capital's health service. Our inpatient facilities and ambulance service are now working at their limits," Rakova said.

In what could complicate battling the spread, reports have emerged that up to 30 per cent of Russia's coronavirus tests are false negatives. Russia's top coronavirus doctor Denis Protsenko, himself infected and working from isolation in his office, said Thursday that medical experts had decided to treat all pneumonia cases as coronavirus.

"False negative cases" dictate the need to rely instead on lung CT scans and symptoms, rather than COVID-19 diagnostic tests, he wrote on Facebook. Moscow's lockdown has allowed people to leave their homes for essential work, to buy food and medicine or to walk dogs within a radius of 100 meters. Driving private cars is permitted, however.

Sobyanin warned that the epidemic was not even close to its peak. "I can tell you for sure: there hasn't been any peak yet. We are more in the foothills of this peak, not even in the middle," he told RIA-Novosti.

He said Russia had gained time with its anti-virus measures and was rushing to prepare more clinics to deal with "the blow that is coming our way." Moscow is building a dedicated virus hospital with 500 beds from scratch in a few weeks. It is due to open this month.