Moscow authorities explain the increase in COVID-19 cases

Moscow is seeing a slight seasonal increase in the incidence of acute respiratory viral infections and COVID-19 , which is “quite expected” for the end of summer, as city residents return from vacations and summer cottages, said Deputy Mayor of the capital for Social Development Anastasia Rakova.

According to her, the most common strain of COVID-19 is FLIRT, the disease is mild and patients recover fairly quickly. "We see the same trend of increasing the share of the FLIRT strain in the structure of morbidity all over the world," Rakova said.

Between August 5 and 11, the incidence of coronavirus in Russia increased by 29.1%, the federal task force reported. Over the week, 1,100 people were hospitalized, the figure increased by 24.2%, and 14 people died.

In June, Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova said that coronavirus had become a seasonal disease and that no particular risks for Russians had yet been recorded. At the same time, she noted that an increase in COVID-19 cases was expected in Russia in the fall.

In 2023, Rospotrebnadzor calculated the economic damage from 34 infectious diseases. It amounted to about 1 trillion rubles. Most of these funds (98.91%) were spent on the treatment of ten diseases: ARVI (acute upper respiratory tract infections of multiple and unspecified localization), COVID-19, chickenpox, acute intestinal infections, influenza, rotavirus infection, animal bites, infectious mononucleosis, whooping cough.