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.
