Russian doctors fear coronavirus could spread like «nuclear reaction»

As Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday addressed the nation with an alarming message of disease and economic crisis, doctors all over the country prepare for an unprecedented rush of patients to their hospitals.

According to Nikolay Malyshev, head doctor of infection diseases at the Moscow health ministry, the growth in the number of new cases has increased three-fold over only the last 24 hours.

«We are preparing for an explosive development in the form of a nuclear reaction,» he said in televised appearance at state television.

«A huge number of people will fall ill,» he stressed, newspaper RBC reports. Russian health authorities are now considering ways to do diagnostics remotely with help of electronic information technology.

Preparing hospitals

Special hospitals all over the country are now in the process of preparing for a mass number of cases. In Arkhangelsk, a hospital that previously served war veterans will from now only threat people affected by the coronavirus, the regional government informs.

In addition, special units are under establishment in main hospitals in regional cities such as Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk and Kotlas. Additional observatory points are also under consideration, regional Governor Igor Orlov said in a meeting on Wednesday evening.

Growth in cases

The north Russian region currently only has three confirmed coronavirus cases. Also in the neighboring region of Komi there are officially three cases, two of which were confirmed in the course of the last 24 hours.

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In Murmansk, the regional information site on the coronavirus list three cases and 58 people hospitalized with indications.

Statistics from all of Russia say that a total of 844 Russians were infected by Thursday 26th March.