Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Against the background of a sharp jump in the number of patients with coronavirus and a worsening epidemiological situation in Russia, the country’s authorities are entering a new phase in the fight against the epidemiological threat.

On 30 September, in Russia, more than 8,400 new cases of coronavirus infection were registered per day - 249 more cases than the day before. This figure was the highest number of infections on 15 June 2020.

At the same time, 177 people died from the virus per day (17 more than the day before) - the highest rate since 15 July. As a result, the total number of detected cases reached about 1.18 million in 85 regions, and the number of recovered - 958 thousand. About 20.7 thousand Russians died. At the same time, the largest number of new cases of the disease occurs in the largest cities - Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Against this background, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an address to citizens. In his speech, he did not announce new quarantine measures, confining himself to a call to explain to people the realities of the current situation and to offer easy, but necessary means of protection.

At the same time, given the current trends in the increase in the disease, the Russian leader warned the citizens of the country about the need to strictly observe safety measures. Otherwise, he said, it will be necessary to return to the large-scale practice of restrictions, "sensitive for the economy and burdensome for people."

A. Kuznetsov, Assistant to the Minister of Health of Russia, also made an appeal to citizens not to test the domestic health care system and observe all safety measures - in particular, mask regime, social distance and hand hygiene. According to him, everyone’s adherence to these simple tips will help prevent an increase in the incidence. He urged the population to immediately seek medical help at the first symptoms of illness.

Against this background, Moscow Mayor S. Sobyanin recommended that residents of the capital over 65 years of age self-isolate as much as possible, and the enterprises asked to transfer as many employees as possible to a remote mode of work. From October 5, it is planned to temporarily suspend studies in the city’s schools. According to him, these restrictive regimes are valid until October 28 this year, then they can be extended.

According to the state news agency RIA Novosti, the capital’s administration has already sent letters with a corresponding decree directly to more than 5 thousand companies based in Moscow.

Taking these recommendations into account, Sberbank has already planned the transfer of half of its employees in Moscow to remote work. The country’s largest food retailer, X5, also said that 90% of its Moscow office workers will work from home.

At the same time, Rospotrebnadzor said that it sees no serious grounds for introducing additional restrictions in other regions of the country. The head of the department A. Popova explained this decision by the fact that "the situation with the spread of infection in the Russian Federation is under control, since 6 of 8 federal districts do not have significant changes in the state and morbidity figures."

Commenting on the epidemiological situation in Russia, most experts associate the transition of the dynamics of the spread of coronavirus to the intensive phase with insufficient compliance by Russian citizens with sanitary restrictions.

A poll conducted by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion shows that only 52% of Russians wear masks, and only 38% follow the rules of social distancing.

In most regions of the country, the authorities again took a course towards tightening control over the mask regime. Such measures, in particular, were taken in the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions, where now masks must again be worn indoors and in public transport.

On the streets of Yekaterinburg came patrols from law enforcement officers who remind citizens of the need to comply with the mask regime in the metro, public transport, shopping centers.

According to experts, the Russian authorities are trying to minimize the spread of the virus without introducing massive isolation of the population. At the same time, it is believed that the country’s healthcare system is ready for the worst-case scenario.

According to the Ministry of Health of Russia, since the beginning of the pandemic, the country has managed to quickly increase the number of hospital beds to 184 thousand. Of these, 115 thousand are currently employed.

Experts from the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of the Russian Federation indicate that "an unfavorable scenario for the spread of COVID-19 can be avoided due to the large Russian bed capacity, as well as the weakening of the virus as it moves from carrier to carrier."

Experts from the Center for Economic Research are in support of the epidemiologists. According to them, there is no point in introducing strict isolation measures, since it will not be possible to achieve their observance among 80% of citizens, and this is the indicator that is needed for their effectiveness.

In this context, the German publication Deutsche Welle associates the unwillingness of the Russian leadership to return to strict restrictions with negative trends in the weakened Russian economy.

According to the Chinese publication South China Morning Post, in the second quarter, Russia’s GDP fell by 8.5%, and in the first half of this year. - by 3.6%. At the same time, the poverty rate has increased from 12.5% to 20% since the start of the pandemic. One of the most serious blows during the first self-isolation regime in Moscow fell on small and medium-sized businesses.

In these conditions, experts interviewed by the Financial Times note that "a possible second quarantine will finally finish off those who, despite difficulties, survived during the first", which will cause massive discontent among the population.

In general, predicting the further development of the epidemiological situation, experts on statistics and modeling predict that with the most favorable outcome, the incidence and death rate in Russia will begin to decline in a week, and in the worst case, the peak will occur in early November 2020.