MOSCOW: Russia has conducted around 10% fewer COVID-19 tests so far this month than the same period a month ago, despite a surge in recorded infections, official data shows, raising questions over authorities’ ability to control the spread.
Beyond affluent Moscow, people with COVID-19 symptoms can wait days to be tested and doctors sometimes refuse to test them altogether, according to Reuters interviews with patients, doctors and officials in 11 regions.
Rospotrebnadzor, the сonsumer health watchdog, ordered an increase in testing on Nov. 16 yet the number of tests conducted in the first half of December fell by 825,000, or 11%, compared with the first half of November, Reuters calculations using official data showed.
Rospotrebnadzor has since Nov. 16 allowed medical workers not to test people who have had contact with infected people but have no symptoms themselves, which analysts said could account for some of the decline.
The health ministry, Rospotrebnadzor and the national coronavirus crisis center did not respond to requests to comment on the reason for the drop in testing.
Two local officials and a doctor from the Central, Povolzhsky and Nizhny Novgorod regions respectively told Reuters on condition of anonymity that health care workers in the regions had been informally instructed by their managers or the local government to reduce testing due to a shortage of doctors.
The official from the Central region said doctors were required to refer patients with flu-like symptoms for testing under official rules but that in practice that was “impossible” due to the sheer numbers.
COVID-19 cases in Russia have surged since September, climbing to a record one-day high of over 29,000 on Dec. 6.
The Kremlin has resisted a second strict lockdown, saying measures in some regions limiting gatherings and mandating remote learning and work where possible and self-isolation for the elderly are enough.
’More tests means more cases’
Russia, the ninth biggest country by population, has reported more than 2.7 million cases, the world’s fourth-highest tally, and 47,968 deaths.
There were almost 50,000 more deaths recorded across Russia in October alone than in the same month last year, according to the state statistics service Rosstat. The Kremlin said the data required deep analysis.
Alexei Raksha, a demographer and a former adviser at the Federal State Statistics Service, said he believed the real COVID case figures were 10-15 times higher, basing his estimate based on various government data and search query statistics.
“All the official data on recorded cases can be thrown in the trash,” he said.
Boris Ovchinnikov, an analyst at research firm Data Insight, said he believes the reduction in testing is one of various tools used by authorities to “manage” the statistics.
“More tests means more cases,” he said.
Russia says it discloses all COVID-19 cases that it confirms in laboratories — considered the most reliable method. It is not the only country where people have reported difficulties accessing tests, but most are stepping up testing, seeing it as vital way to detect and limit the spread of the virus.
In Gusev, a town in western Russia, Margarita Yakutenko said she, her 56-year old mother, husband and three children all developed COVID-19 symptoms last month, but that medics declined to test them, referring them to their GP for regular treatment.
Her mother rapidly deteriorated and had a fever of 40 degrees, but was only tested on the eighth day of her illness when the hospital agreed to scan her lungs and diagnosed her with pneumonia, she said.
Her mother tested positive, was hospitalized and remained there weeks later. Her husband was tested 10 days after falling ill and his result was negative; the rest of the family were never tested, Yakutenko said.
In a village in Lipetsk region, Svetlana, a cleaner who declined to be identified by her surname, said doctors refused to test her even though she had a fever, cough and had lost her sense of smell — the three key symptoms of COVID-19.
She paid 1,300 roubles ($18) out of her 10,000 rouble monthly salary to be tested privately and her result came back positive.
Russia scales back COVID-19 screening amid surging cases
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Russia scales back COVID-19 screening amid surging cases
- Beyond affluent Moscow, people with COVID-19 symptoms can wait days to be tested and doctors sometimes refuse to test them altogether
- Russia, the ninth biggest country by population, has reported more than 2.7 million cases
Kashmir’s ‘bee queen’ sets out to empower women, inspire youth
- Sania Zehra manages about 600 bee colonies, sells products across India
- She created an empowerment group to help aspiring women entrepreneurs
NEW DELHI: For the past four years, beekeeping has become central to Sania Zehra’s life. Every morning, she wakes at about 6 a.m. to tend to her colonies, before spending the rest of the day building the enterprise that turned her into the “bee queen” of Kashmir.
Her beekeeping journey began as a 16-year-old, watching her father hard at work at the family farm in Balhama in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
“I first saw my grandfather working with the bees, and then I saw my father doing the same business. When I saw my father working hard, I decided to also contribute and support him,” Zehra told Arab News.
She overcame her initial fear of bee stings and got to work immediately, applying for a government scheme that allowed her to expand the business.
It was not always smooth sailing — she struggled to make a profit in the first couple of years and had to juggle maintaining the hectic routine of beekeeping and selling her products.
But as her hard work of managing hundreds of colonies garnered her the “bee queen” title, today her products are being sold across the country.
“I am selling my product across India (and) I am getting orders from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Dubai, South Africa, Qatar and all,” Zehra said.
Beekeeping is a multi-pronged passion for the 20-year-old, who sees it as a way to protect the environment and preserve her family legacy.
She joins an increasing number of women in Kashmir who are running their own businesses, many of whom access government programs aimed at training and supporting women entrepreneurs.
Despite the social barriers that persist to this day, Zehra found support from her family, especially her mother.
“My mother supports me wholeheartedly. She says ‘I have sons but you have gone ahead of the boys and there is nothing that can stop a woman if she wants to,’” she said.
“For me, it’s a passion as well as a desire to carry the family legacy … I have been fascinated by bees’ social structure and the importance of bees in our ecosystem. I want to contribute to their conversation and produce natural honey and connect with nature. They are an inspiration for me.”
As time went by, she found that beekeeping was not only therapeutic for her mental health but also a way to support the entrepreneurial landscape in Kashmir.
To fuel that mission, Zehra created an empowerment group whose members comprise talented women who lack access to resources.
“My main focus is that I should act as a catalyst for many and help others to grow too,” she said.
With 40 members so far, Zehra is aiming to take it to 100 and help them gain access to the government initiatives that once helped her.
“I want to give employment to all,” Zehra said. “I have a future plan to address the unemployment issue in Kashmir and make Kashmir a wonderful place. I want to inspire young people.”
Pope calls for ‘arms to be silenced’ across world
VATICAN: Pope Francis called Wednesday for “arms to be silenced” around the world in his Christmas address, appealing for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan as he denounced the “extremely grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza.
He used his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and the world“) message to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to call for talks for a just peace in Ukraine as the country was pummelled by 170 Russian missiles and drones on Christmas morning.
“May the sound of arms be silenced in war-torn Ukraine,” the 88-year-old pontiff said, his voice strained and breathless. “May there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
In front of thousands of the faithful gathered in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, also appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the freeing of Israeli hostages held there by Hamas.
“I think of the Christian communities in Israel and Palestine, particularly in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave. May there be a ceasefire, may the hostages be released and aid be given to the people worn out by hunger and by war,” he added.
Francis extended his call for a silencing of arms to the whole Middle East and to Sudan, which has been ravaged by a ravaged by 20 months of brutal civil war where millions are under the threat of famine.
“May the Son of the Most High sustain the efforts of the international community to facilitate access to humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Sudan and to initiate new negotiations for a ceasefire,” he said.
Passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashes in Kazakhstan with many feared dead
- The plane was carrying 67 passengers and five crew, Kazakh authorities say 12 people had survived
- Azerbaijan Airlines said aircraft forced to make emergency landing approximately 3 km from Aktau
ASTANA: An Embraer passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday with 67 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced, saying 12 people had survived.
Unverified video of the crash showed the plane, which was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, bursting into flames as it hit the ground and thick black smoke then rising.
The Central Asian country’s emergencies ministry said in a statement that fire services had put out the blaze and that survivors were being treated at a nearby hospital.
Azerbaijan Airlines said the Embraer 190 aircraft, with flight number J2-8243, had been flying from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya, but had been forced to make an emergency landing approximately 3 km (1.8 miles) from the Kazakh city of Aktau.
Russian news agencies said the plane had been rerouted due to fog in Grozny.
Authorities in Kazakhstan said they had begun looking into different possible versions of what had happened, including a technical problem, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.
Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan: Taliban spokesman
- Border tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Taliban government seized power in 2021
KABUL: Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border province of Afghanistan killed 46 people, the Taliban government spokesman told AFP on Wednesday.
“Last night (Tuesday), Pakistan bombarded four points in the Barmal district of Paktika province. The total number of dead is 46, most of whom were children and women,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
He added that six more people were wounded, mostly children.
A defense ministry statement late Tuesday condemned the latest strikes by Pakistan on Afghan territory, calling them “barbaric” and a “clear aggression.”
“The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered, but rather considers the defense of its territory and sovereignty to be its inalienable right,” the statement said, using the Taliban authorities’ name for the government.
Border tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Taliban government seized power in 2021, with Islamabad claiming militant groups are carrying out regular attacks from Afghanistan.
Islamabad has accused Kabul’s Taliban government of harboring militant fighters, allowing them to strike on Pakistani soil with impunity.
Kabul has denied the allegations.
Passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashes in Kazakhstan with many feared dead
- An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet flying from the capital Baku to Grozny in Russia crashed on Wednesday
- 72 people were on board of the plane
ASTANA: An Embraer passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday with 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced, saying that 28 people had survived.
Unverified video of the crash showed the plane, which was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, bursting into flames as it hit the ground and thick black smoke then rising. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact.
Kazakhstan’s emergencies ministry said in a statement that fire services had put out the blaze and that the survivors, including two children, were being treated at a nearby hospital. The bodies of the dead were being recovered.
Azerbaijan Airlines said the Embraer 190 jet, with flight number J2-8243, was flying from Baku to Grozny, capital of Russia’s Chechnya region, but had been forced to make an emergency landing around 3 km (1.8 miles) from Aktau in Kazakhstan. The city is on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea from Azerbaijan and Russia.
Authorities in Kazakhstan said a government commission had been set up to investigate what had happened and its members ordered to fly to the site and ensure that the families of the dead and injured were getting the help they needed.
Kazakhstan would cooperate with Azerbaijan on the investigation, the government said.
Russia’s aviation watchdog said in a statement that preliminary information suggested the pilot had decided to make an emergency landing after a bird strike.
Following the crash, Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, was returning home from Russia where he had been due to attend a summit on Wednesday, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, expressed his condolences in a statement and said some of those being treated in hospital were in an extremely serious condition and that he and others would pray for their rapid recovery.
