Meeting of the Presidium of the Government Coordinating Council to control the incidence of the novel coronavirus infection in Russia
Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Good afternoon, colleagues. The country is
still facing a complicated situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. The infection
continues to spread, and the number of new cases is on the rise. This increases
the load on doctors and the entire personnel of hospitals and outpatient
clinics.
We are spending more on
medication and essential medical items for patients. Due to this, it is
particularly important that we support the national healthcare system.
We have signed a directive
on using assets of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund to assist
COVID-19 patients and unconfirmed COVID-19 cases. This amounts to 25 billion
roubles. Additional investment will make it possible to ensure the compulsory
medical insurance system’s stability. This funding will finance the
hospitalisation of at least 700,000 patients. We will continue to treat people
for free in all the Russian regions, under compulsory medical insurance
policies. This decision was made during the Government’s annual report at the
State Duma. Last week, we also discussed this subject with top managers of
leading medical institutions.
An additional 25 billion
roubles will be spent on specialised, including high-tech, medical treatment at
federal medical institutions. Their specialists operate on people with serious
health disorders using modern technologies and methods. People must be able to
obtain this medical treatment in the future. For many of them, this is a matter
of life and death, rather than just health protection.
These initial tranches from
part of the remaining assets of the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund
will be used to support the national healthcare system. The uninterrupted running
of hospitals and outpatient clinics is an important factor of the COVID-19
response efforts.
The infection continues to
spread more quickly all over the world. Notably, this is caused by new virus
mutations, and media outlets are writing about this a lot. The regional
authorities must closely monitor the spread of the infection 24 hours a day and
take timely action to protect the people. It is necessary to maintain high PCR
testing rates, so as to be able to expose new cases as fast as possible and to
treat them.
Instead of testing positive
for COVID-19, it would be better to get vaccinated. The jab campaign’s pace has
accelerated considerably. Right now, we have to supply the required amount of
medication. There are sufficient stocks of vaccine, and it is important to ensure
timely deliveries to all the Russian regions.
The jab centres must be user-friendly. This also goes for their location
and their working hours.
