Coronavirus situation in Russia not changing for better, Putin says

The situation with the coronavirus infection in Russia is not changing for the better, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday at an online meeting on the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the country.

"We see that the situation is changing every day and, unfortunately, the number of infected people is increasing. There is an increasingly large number of cases with the severe form of the disease, precisely the severe form," Putin said.

Putin demanded that "updated information be provided on the measures that are being taken to fight the coronavirus epidemic."

“All our actions, bearing in mind local preventive measures and the operation of the entire healthcare system, should be optimally structured, with ample reserve, as they say, and taking all factors into account," the Russian President said.

A total of 18,328 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 1,470 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 148 fatalities nationwide.