Russia under scrutiny over low number of coronavirus cases

(Patria) - Russia, with a population of 144 million and a 4,000 km border with China, has registered only 438 cases of coronavirus infection.

While various theories are circulating about how this is possible, Russian President Putin explains that it is due to early measures that helped avoid a 'massive epidemic' in the country.

Although Putin insists that the coronavirus is 'under control', Russians are stocking up on food and other essential items. 

Over the past weekend, Russia announced a set of new stricter measures such as border closures, school closures, and flight cancellations. The government is also building a large hospital in the suburbs of Moscow, similar to those China built in record time to cope with the rising number of cases.

However, some have recently questioned the official number of cases in Russia, as the data coming from the country is contradictory, Euronews reports.

The statistical agency Rosstat claims that the number of pneumonia cases in Moscow in January 2020 increased by 37% compared to 2019. However, the Russian healthcare system insists that the number of non-hospitalized pneumonia cases decreased by 8% and 7% in the first two months of this year.

At the same time, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko claims that the number of deaths due to pneumonia has decreased by 20% this year.

Another factor in this story is coronavirus testing. The Russian health agency Rospotrebnadzor claims that more than 110,000 people have been tested, while the newspaper Komsomolets has questioned the reliability of the tests compared to those used in other countries, as only Russian citizens with severe COVID-19 symptoms tested positive, Euronews reports.