Medvedev: Russia should be ready for new Covid or other infections outbreaks

The coronavirus pandemic is far from being over and Russia should be prepared for both new COVID-19 outbreaks and for the emergence of new infections, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.

"The coronavirus situation in Russia has relatively calmed down, although it is not absolutely sterile or safe," he said at a meeting of the Security Council commission on the establishment of a national system of protection against new infections. "it is linked with a range of processes that are yet to be analyzed."

"Sanitary restrictions are being lifted in many countries, including for tourists, but the virus is not gone. We hear alarming news from China where the pandemic is on the rise, with the biggest coronavirus outbreak leading to quite tough quarantine restrictions, for instance, in Shanghai," he said. "That is why it is very important to be prepared for any coronavirus outbursts or the emergence of new dangerous infections."

"Our task is to establish a system to swiftly respond to the emergence and spread of new infections, to elaborate clear algorithms of actions for each element of the state mechanism," he stressed, adding that it was done back in 2020. "But today, two years later, it is obvious that this algorithm needs to be optimized and adapted to the current situation," he noted. "The result will be a possibility of quickly developing and manufacturing enough of medicines and vaccines.".