Coronavirus spread in Russia accelerates

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The spread of coronavirus in Russia is gaining pace with 1,154 more cases confirmed and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours.

With the new cases, the tally has risen to 7,497 and the death toll stands at 58, an emergency team said.

In a separate statement, Russia's chief sanitary officer Anna Popova characterized the coronavirus as highly contagious. Each patient can infect at least three more people, she said.

So far, the Russian doctors have found out that the coronavirus' deadly effect derives from its ability to block oxygenating of blood, leading to brain hypoxia and death, meaning that in complicated cases, the patients need oxygen saturation instead of lung ventilation.

Taking into account these facts, the Federal Biomedical Agency suggested already patented drug Dalargin for the treatment of critical coronavirus cases.

The Russian government also assigned $1million to the World Health Organization to sponsor the studies of the COVID-19 and to contribute into the international fight against the infection.

Since originating in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 184 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

An excess of 1.35 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the global death toll over 74,800, and more than 285,000 recoveries.