Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia (January–June 2020)
The following is the timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia for the first half of 2020.
Timeline
January–February 2020
On 24 January, the first testing systems were developed and deployed to laboratories around the country.[3]
On 31 January, two cases were confirmed, one in Tyumen, another in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai. Both were Chinese nationals, who have since recovered.[4][5]
On 23 February, eight Russians from the cruise ship Diamond Princess were evacuated to Kazan, Tatarstan where they were hospitalised, including three confirmed cases.[6] These cases were listed as occurring on international conveyance and not included in official Russian statistics by Rospotrebnadzor. These eight people, including the three patients who recovered, were discharged from hospital on 8 March.[7]
Some of Russia's citizens abroad have been confirmed to be infected, on 28 February a Russian man tested positive in Azerbaijan after he had visited Iran. While some days later the Health ministry of the UAE announced that two Russians got the virus in the United Arab Emirates.[8]
March 2020
On 1 March, a woman escaped from the hospital in Sevastopol before being tested for the virus. She fled to Rostov-on-Don and is on the wanted list.[9]
On 2 March, the first case of coronavirus in Moscow was confirmed.[10][9] The patient was a young man who fell ill on 21 February while on holiday in Italy, and returned to Russia on 23 February, staying at his house in Moscow Oblast.[10] He showed up with symptoms at a clinic on 27 February, and was then hospitalised in Moscow.[10] He was reported to be recovered on 6 March.[11]
On 5 March, the first case of coronavirus in Saint Petersburg was confirmed. The patient was an Italian student who returned to Russia from Italy on 29 February, was hospitalised on 2 March and recovered on 13 March.[9][12]
On 6 March, six more cases were confirmed, with five of them being in Moscow and one of them being in Nizhny Novgorod. All of them were reported to be linked to Italy.[9]
On 7 March, four cases were confirmed, three in Lipetsk and one in Saint Petersburg. All of them had returned from Italy.[9]
On 8 March, three new cases in Belgorod, Moscow and Kaliningrad oblasts were confirmed, all of them had returned from Italy.[9]
On 9 March, three cases in Moscow were confirmed, all of them coming from Italy.[9]
On 11 March, eight new cases were confirmed, six in Moscow and two in Moscow Oblast, all were people coming from Italy.[9]
On 12 March, six cases were confirmed, including four in Moscow, one in Kaliningrad Oblast and the first case in Krasnodar Krai.[9] On the same day, two tourists who arrived from Moscow on 3 March were diagnosed with the disease in Israel.[13]
On 13 March, 11 new cases were confirmed: five in Moscow, three in St. Petersburg, one in Leningrad Oblast, Moscow Oblast, and Perm Krai. All of the patients came from Italy, France, or Austria, except for one who got infected locally.[9]
On 14 March, first two cases in Kemerovo Oblast were confirmed. Also, there were nine new cases in Moscow, one in Moscow Oblast, Saint Petersburg and Kaliningrad Oblast each.[9]
On 15 March, four new cases were confirmed, including three in Moscow region and one in Tyumen. The patients had recently visited Spain, Italy, France and Switzerland.[9]
On 16 March, 30 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number of cases to 93. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova announced that 7 cases were from contact with other patients while the other 86 were imported.[14] 3 new cases were in Samara Oblast for the first time, with the first cases in Kirov Oblast and Komi Republic.[9]
On 17 March, 21 more cases were confirmed; four in Moscow, two in Samara Oblast, Kaliningrad Oblast, Tver Oblast, one in Moscow Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Tambov Oblast, Kaluga Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Penza Oblast, Tatarstan, Khakassia, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Yaroslavl Oblast.[9]
On 18 March, 33 new cases were confirmed including 31 in Moscow, one new case in Novosibirsk Oblast and Tomsk Oblast each.[9]
On 19 March, the first death of a patient with confirmed COVID-19 was reported in Moscow. A 79-year-old woman was first hospitalised on 13 March and transferred to a private clinic the next day. Upon confirmation of COVID-19 she was transferred to an intensive care ward in Moscow Infectious Hospital #2. She also suffered from type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease (and underwent coronary stenting), coronary and aortic atherosclerosis, chronic pulmonary hypertension, kidney stone disease, and cerebrovascular disease.[15][16] However, pulmonary embolism was identified as the direct cause of her death,[17] she had no pathological changes in lungs,[18] and her death was not officially counted as caused by coronavirus.[9][19] The victim was identified in the media as Valentina Zubareva, professor at the Gubkin University, she had contracted the disease in Russia.[20] 52 new cases were also confirmed in 23 regions including first cases in Chuvashia, Yakutia, Khabarovsk Krai, Ivanovo, Murmansk, Orenburg, Ryazan, Saratov, Tula, Voronezh oblasts, and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, bringing the total number to 199.[21][9]
On 20 March, 54 new cases were confirmed, including 33 in Moscow, 6 in Yakutia, 4 in Saint Petersburg, 4 in Samara Oblast, 2 in Kirov Oblast, 2 in Novosibirsk Oblast, 1 in Moscow Oblast, 1 in Tyumen Oblast, and the first case in Ulyanovsk Oblast.[9]
On 21 March, 53 new cases were confirmed in 18 federal subjects, including first cases in Kabardino-Balkaria (2 cases), Stavropol Krai, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Kurgan Oblast, and disputed Republic of Crimea (1 case each).[9]
On 22 March, 61 new cases were confirmed, including 54 in Moscow, 2 in Kirov Oblast, 1 case in Arkhangelsk Oblast, first cases in Udmurtia (2 cases), Bryansk Oblast, and Novgorod Oblast (1 case each).[9]
On 23 March, 71 new cases were confirmed, all of them in Moscow.[9]
On 24 March, 57 new cases were confirmed, including first cases in Primorsky Krai, Oryol Oblast, the Chechen Republic, Volgograd Oblast and Bashkortostan.[9]
On 25 March, 163 new cases were confirmed, 120 of them in Moscow, with first cases in Pskov Oblast and Rostov Oblast.[9] 2 deaths were also later reported and confirmed in Moscow. The patients were 73 and 88 years old and had been tested positive for the coronavirus.[22]
On 26 March, 182 new cases were confirmed, 136 of them in Moscow, with first cases in Buryatia.[9] According to a source in the hospital and an official report to the prosecutor office, an 83-year-old woman (a patient of a surgeon who got sick earlier, see 31 March) died in Syktyvkar of COVID-19, the death was covered up by the local authorities and not included in the official count.[23][24] An official working under the chief of staff of the prime minister also tested positive for the coronavirus that day.[25] The government also ordered the civil aviation authority to suspend all regular and charter flights to and from the country from 27 March.[26]
On 27 March, 196 new cases were confirmed, 157 of them in Moscow, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,036. The first cases in Mordovia and Dagestan were confirmed. An additional death in Moscow, a 70-year-old woman with pre-existing conditions who tested positive for coronavirus, was also confirmed.[9] On the same day, the Kremlin confirmed that an employee of the presidential administration tested positive for the coronavirus, saying that the official had no contact with the president.[27] Russian singer Lev Leshchenko was also confirmed to have tested positive for the virus.[28] Later in the day, the 4th death was reported, a 56-year-old woman with one lung due to cancer, also in Moscow.[29]
On 28 March, the fifth patient died in Orenburg, the first death outside of Moscow. The 57-year-old man from Buzuluk, Orenburg Oblast had travelled in France, Spain and Turkey in March. He had a chronic pathology.[30] 228 new cases were confirmed, 114 of them in Moscow, bringing the total number of cases to 1,264. First cases were confirmed in Adygea, Kostroma, Sakhalin and Smolensk oblasts.[9] Later that day, two deaths were reported in Saint Petersburg and Moscow.[31][32] That day, the government announced that the border would be shut on 30 March, with all border crossings closed in order to curb the virus. International flights were already grounded.[33]
On 29 March, 270 new cases were confirmed, 197 of them in Moscow, bringing the total number in the city to 1,014 and in the country to 1,534. Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin later in the day announced that the city would be on lockdown starting the next day.[34] Irkutsk Oblast, Amur Oblast and Omsk Oblast all had their first confirmed cases. The total number of confirmed deaths reached 8.[9]
On 30 March, 302 new cases were confirmed, including 212 in Moscow, bringing the total number to 1,836. The first cases were found in Kalmykia, Mari El,