Russia (bbabo.net), - Suspension of routine medical care due to the rapid spread of the new strain of coronavirus "omicron" should be temporary and not apply to children and patients with diseases requiring continuous treatment, said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
Omicron has been identified in almost all regions of the country, the head of government stated at the presidium of the Coordinating Council for Combating Infection. It spreads faster than the previous ones, and with an increase in the incidence, the burden on the entire healthcare system, especially on the primary link, increases. "Under these conditions, it is extremely important to quickly detect the infection. To do this, it is necessary to maintain a high level of testing of citizens for coronavirus, as instructed by the president," Mishustin said.
The government will additionally fund the study of circulating strains. "We will allocate about 400 million rubles for their genetic analysis - sequencing," the prime minister said. The Cabinet of Ministers will also provide funding for the reagents and consumables needed to identify the new Omicron strain, as timely research is needed to effectively monitor the changing situation.
In the context of a pandemic, the regions have the right to temporarily suspend the provision of planned medical care in some profiles. “But I want to emphasize that the key word here is “temporarily.” As soon as the situation in the region stabilizes, of course, it is necessary to immediately resume planned assistance,” Mikhail Mishustin told the governors.
He also recalled the president's instruction to keep medical care for children under special control. "Aid should also not stop for people who have diseases that require continuous treatment. For example, oncology," the head of government emphasized. Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko was instructed to take the issue under personal control.
According to the results of the fourth week of the year, the incidence rate in the country amounted to 468.5 per 100,000 population. "This is a two-fold increase compared to the week before," - said the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova. Almost half of all registered cases - 47 percent - are in Moscow, the Moscow region and St. Petersburg. The average Russian indicators were exceeded in 19 regions, an increase was recorded in 83. "And in two we still see a decrease in the incidence by 4 and 8 percent. This is in the Amur Region and the Jewish Autonomous Region," the country's chief sanitary doctor noted.
Coronavirus is now spreading fastest among children aged 15-17, almost ten thousand children with covid have been hospitalized
Over the past week, the number of diseases in Moscow has increased by almost 70 percent, and hospitalizations have increased by 40 percent. “In terms of hospitalizations, we have reached a figure of about 1,600 people a day, and today about 10,000 inpatient beds are occupied,” said the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin. The city has increased the reserve of covid beds by another five thousand, they will be involved in the event of a further rise in the incidence.
However, the authorities of the capital have a timid hope of stabilizing the situation, since, according to the mayor, this week the increase in new cases is declining. "I hope we are reaching a plateau," Sobyanin suggested cautiously. "Let's see, these are the first days of the week. We can roughly see what indicators will be tomorrow."
Growth is recorded in all age groups, said Anna Popova. To a lesser extent, this applies to people 65 and older. But the coronavirus is now spreading fastest among children 15-17 years old. "It is here that special efforts and measures are required to prevent further spread," the head of Rospotrebnadzor said.
The number of patients under medical supervision doubled last week, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said. 92 percent are on outpatient treatment. "As for the inpatient link, there is also an increase in hospitalizations. To date, 147,000 people have been hospitalized, an increase of 23 percent," the head of the Ministry of Health cited data from hospitals. The number of seriously ill patients decreased by 9 percent, their share in the total number - 11 percent.
“Today, 8 percent of the total number of active cases are hospitalized,” Murashko said. - This is less than it was in the fourth wave, autumn. On the one hand, this is a favorable moment, because we see that the situation with the coronavirus does not overload the inpatient link, but at the same time, this is a huge burden on the outpatient stage of care.
At the same time, children are increasingly being admitted to hospitals, now it is almost 10 thousand patients. “I have to note that the number of children in severe cases among those hospitalized has increased by 1.6 times,” Minister Murashko said. Because of this, new children's beds were deployed in the regions - up to 11,385 units.
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