According to a health official, 101 medical workers in Russia have died from the coronavirus pandemic. The report was released by the director of the Health Ministry’s department of public health, communications Lyudmila Letnikova, and other experts.
In a report by the Tribune, Letnikova said the health ministry has started keeping a registry of deceased medical workers. “ This week every region should complete the register, we asked them to confirm. Last Friday 101 people were on this list of confirmed (deaths). We will check this data against the data from the Social Insurance Fund, which is based on media reports and the ‘Memory List’,” she said.
In April, a website called ‘Memory List’ was made online by the Russian government that included names of healthcare workers in Russia who have died during the coronavirus pandemic. Appeals for more than 5,000 names to be included are currently being verified.
On May 19, Mediazona published a report verifying the data available on the ‘Memory List,’ and revealed that at least 186 medical workers had died from the coronavirus in Russia so far.
On May 21, as per an AP report deaths of more than 70 Russian healthcare workers due to COVID-19 were confirmed. The Russian government had previously refrained from releasing statistics on the total number of healthcare workers who have contracted the coronavirus or suffered related deaths.
As per a BBC report, nursing homes in Russia have been hit worse due to the coronavirus pandemic. A nursing home carer was quoted as saying that what’s happening at the Vishenka home for the elderly in Smolensk is a nightmare.
Residents and staff started getting infected with the virus at the beginning of May. But, according to a nurse, when people started dying, their accompanying health condition was given as the reason of death and that they knew it was COVID-19 only when the ambulance came to take the bodies and those who took the bodies away were wearing protective gear.
Care homes that are supported with local funds are finding it difficult to follow rules that carers should isolate themselves for two weeks between shifts. Incontinence pads are also low on supply and the depleting funds are proving to be insufficient to pay staff at nursing homes.
Many nursing homes are large with shared bedrooms and bathrooms, making it easier for the virus to spread.
