COVID-19: Putin draws new schedule as hospital chief tests positive

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Putin visited the designated COVID-19 hospital

Putin visited the designated COVID-19 hospital; Chief doctor, Denis Protsenko tests positive a week later.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made changes to his working operation and will continue to work remotely for at least another week.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, on Sunday, said it became necessary in light of the recent infection of a Moscow coronavirus hospital chief with COVID-19.

“A week has passed; I dare to suggest that [Putin will work remotely] at least for another week, or even longer”, Peskov said when asked how long the president was going to work remotely.

“I think that the case with the chief Kommunarka physician falling ill has demonstrated that, despite all precautions, the best and only effective measure is to reduce physical contacts, and that is exactly what the president did”, Peskov said in the “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” weekly show on the Rossiya-1 TV channel.

On 2 April, Putin ordered that the initially week-long coronavirus-related nationwide paid leave to be extended throughout the entire month of April.

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“In fact, it is extraordinary, enormous pressure on the economic life, and this pressure [is negatively affecting the economy]”, the presidential spokesman said.

He added that there had been many disagreements and disputes around that decision.

“But there is one constant here — the most important thing for us in any circumstances is lives and well-being of people. [We are] not forgetting, of course, about difficulties that economic actors are now facing”, Peskov said.

On 24 March, Putin visited the designated COVID-19 hospital in the southern Moscow district of Kommunarka and met with its chief doctor, Denis Protsenko. A week later, Protsenko confirmed testing positive for the coronavirus.

As of Sunday, 5,389 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Russia, the majority in the capital city of Moscow.

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