WHO has no worries about Covid-19 situation in Russia - organization's rep

ST. PETERSBURG. March 23 (Interfax) - The Covid-19 situation has stabilized in Russia, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative and Head of WHO Office in Russia Melita Vujnovic said.

"We are seeing a decrease [in Covid-19 incidence rate]. Every day we receive figures from [the Russian consumer health watchdog] Rospotrebnadzor. Nowadays, testing rates are subsiding, but the proportions of positive tests are not moving high levels. At this moment, there is no fear, we can see no alarms. The situation is developing well, but one should stay vigilant, as always," Vujnovic told reporters on Thursday, when talking to them on the sidelines of the Healthy Society international forum in St. Petersburg.

The world is also recording a decline in Covid-19 incidence and death rates, she said.

"There are all the conditions in place to allow us to [...] say, 'This is the end of an international emergency.' [...] Conditions are in place, but one cannot relax. One should look very carefully to see the virus change. We are seeing that more and more new strains don't give such high morbidity figures, don't cause severe conditions, we are seeing positive dynamics in terms of deaths and hospitalizations," she said.

It is important that all the countries report their genetic analysis data. Russia does, she said.

Coronavirus will eventually turn into a seasonal disease over time but will not go away, Vujnovic said.