Why so few coronavirus cases in Russia?

by Original Quill Sat Mar 21, 2020 7:31 pm

Why are there so few cases arising in Russia. Russia has tested in excess of 133,100 persons, and come up with only 253 cases in a country of 144-million...especially given it's long border with China. https://www.yahoo.com/gma/why-russia-reporting-few-covid-19-cases-cover-164300102--abc-news-topstories.html That is vastly lower than in other major countries in Western Europe. where there are already thousands of cases. Very strange.

Russia’s ratio of positive cases to the number of tests is the second lowest in the world, at 0.21%. Only the tiny United Arab Emirates comes lower at 0.11%, based on figures from the Our World In Data project at Oxford University. Russia records only one death as a result of the coronavirus, a 79-year-old woman in Moscow.

“If they have done that amount of testing, it is remarkably low,” Paul Hunter, a professor of health protection at Britain’s University of East Anglia, told ABC News. “But clearly there are both suspicious and non-suspicious explanations for that. I would be very pushed to say that data is false based just on the numbers.”

Russia’s government has insisted its numbers are accurate and senior doctors on state media have denounced suggestions that the real figures are much higher. President Vladimir Putin told Russians this week “the situation is on the whole under control” and that “Russia looks much better compared with other countries.”-

Nevertheless, the government has moved to impose tougher measures, introducing a state of heightened readiness for the whole country and closing its borders to all foreigners until May 1. In Moscow, schools are closed and there are reports authorities are discussing locking down the city. Outside Moscow, the authorities have begun building a 500-person hospital to house coronavirus patients.

by Victorismyhero Sat Mar 21, 2020 9:04 pm

vodka....lots of it....

by Original Quill Sat Mar 21, 2020 9:24 pm

Victorismyhero wrote:vodka....lots of it....

Haha...Ketel One was my favorite when I was drinking. Come to think, I was never sick back then. Laughing

by Maddog Sat Mar 21, 2020 9:55 pm

Why so few deaths in Japan?

by Ben Reilly Sat Mar 21, 2020 11:31 pm

Maddog wrote:Why so few deaths in Japan?

Who do you think is more likely to fudge their numbers, Japan or Russia? Come on.

by Tommy Monk Sat Mar 21, 2020 11:48 pm

I think Japan actually...

by Ben Reilly Sat Mar 21, 2020 11:50 pm

Tommy Monk wrote:

I think Japan actually...

I totally disagree. I'd always be more ready to accept the statements from a functioning liberal democracy than from a state that is essentially dedicated to keeping its dictator in power.

by Cass Sun Mar 22, 2020 1:16 am

Putin’s got that shit locked down tighter than Mr. C’s wallet.

I also think Japan could be fudging the numbers since they are in a tiny island and vastly overpopulated. Plus they are very worried about their economy.

by Tommy Monk Sun Mar 22, 2020 1:23 am

Plus they are supposed to be hosting the Olympics later this year...

And we all know how honest and open they were about Fukushima...

by Cass Sun Mar 22, 2020 1:27 am

Tommy Monk wrote:

Plus they are supposed to be hosting the Olympics later this year...

And we all know how honest and open they were about Fukushima...

That too.

by Tommy Monk Sun Mar 22, 2020 2:50 am

I think that this virus is a lot worse than even the most liberal of democracies are being honest about...

by Tommy Monk Sun Mar 22, 2020 3:14 am

The official UK figures show that there are only an alleged 20 active cases that are serious/critical right now...

Although figures also show nearly 5000 known active cases and 56 new deaths in last 24 hours...

And reports of hospitals being overwhelmed by cases that need urgent care... Plus announcements of so many more beds and equipment and staff being needed because of the demand etc...

But only 20 current serious/critical cases...!!!???

Yeah... Righto...!!!

by Maddog Sun Mar 22, 2020 3:40 pm

Ben Reilly wrote:
Maddog wrote:Why so few deaths in Japan?

Who do you think is more likely to fudge their numbers, Japan or Russia? Come on.

I trust Japan's numbers. Not Russia.

by Original Quill Sun Mar 22, 2020 4:03 pm

I think we are getting lost in the fallacy of whataboutism, or tu quoque once again. This thread is not about Japan.

Russia is presently run by organized crime, and I tend to attribute to them a certain lack of sophistication. I doubt that they can fix the numbers so easily.

Russians do work that is much more direct. The complicated things that they do are left over from the Soviet days...for example, launch a rocket or cultivate a virus. They are expert in contact poisons.

by Fred Moletrousers Mon Mar 23, 2020 7:25 pm

Regarding the question posed in the title to this thread: Do you really think that a state-controlled media in a country run by an iron-fist former KGB officer would tell us how many?

by nicko Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:32 pm

by Ben Reilly Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:41 pm

+1,000

by Tommy Monk Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:56 pm

Tommy Monk wrote:

I think that this virus is a lot worse than even the most liberal of democracies are being honest about...

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 1:29 am

Fred Moletrousers wrote:Regarding the question posed in the title to this thread: Do you really think that a state-controlled media in a country run by an iron-fist former KGB officer would tell us how many?

I don't think the most iron-fisted dictator could keep an epidemic outbreak from leaking to the rest of the world. So I think the Russian numbers are real. The question is, why?

by Tommy Monk Tue Mar 24, 2020 1:47 am

Mexico and Finland have very similar figures to Russia...

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 2:07 am

Russia has 145.2 million people. Mexico has 131.1 million.

Finland has only 5.6 million. It's suppressed numbers may be akin to what is happening in Russia.

Authorities from the Ministry of Health of Mexico confirmed that as of this Monday, March 23, 2020, there are 364 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Mexico, 48 more than the reported on Sunday, March 22. Then, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Mexico rose to 367, Hugo Lopez Gatell, undersecretary of prevention and health promotion, said today.

Mexico, under the influence of it's more powerful neighbor to the north, may have the same testing suppression going on as under the US administration.

by Tommy Monk Tue Mar 24, 2020 2:15 am

Every country is different...

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 2:24 am

Tommy Monk wrote:Every country is different...

But the problem is the same.

by Tommy Monk Tue Mar 24, 2020 2:51 am

Every country has a variety of problems and all at differing levels...

Here in UK there are about 500,000 deaths a year from a whole variety of issues...

So far there are only about 300 deaths here from Corona virus... Although all of these are said to have underlying health issues... So would have all been quite likely to have been finished off by a nasty cold or a dose of flu etc anyway...

Nearly 2000 people a year are killed, and about 150,000 are seriously injured in UK on roads here every year... But we are not shutting down the whole country to prevent any of this, or to try to prevent the NHS being 'overwhelmed' by any of these huge numbers of people needing treating...!

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 5:35 am

Tommy Monk wrote:Every country has a variety of problems and all at differing levels...

Here in UK there are about 500,000 deaths a year from a whole variety of issues...

So far there are only about 300 deaths here from Corona virus... Although all of these are said to have underlying health issues... So would have all been quite likely to have been finished off by a nasty cold or a dose of flu etc anyway...

Nearly 2000 people a year are killed, and about 150,000 are seriously injured in UK on roads here every year... But we are not shutting down the whole country to prevent any of this, or to try to prevent the NHS being 'overwhelmed' by any of these huge numbers of people needing treating...!

Why so few cases in Russia?

by Tommy Monk Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:41 am

It is what it is...

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 2:40 pm

Yes, it is what it is...the answer is obvious.

by eddie Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:56 pm

Original Quill wrote:
Tommy Monk wrote:Every country has a variety of problems and all at differing levels...

Here in UK there are about 500,000 deaths a year from a whole variety of issues...

So far there are only about 300 deaths here from Corona virus... Although all of these are said to have underlying health issues... So would have all been quite likely to have been finished off by a nasty cold or a dose of flu etc anyway...

Nearly 2000 people a year are killed, and about 150,000 are seriously injured in UK on roads here every year... But we are not shutting down the whole country to prevent any of this, or to try to prevent the NHS being 'overwhelmed' by any of these huge numbers of people needing treating...!

Why so few cases in Russia?

I read or heard that they were better at testing for it immediately and so had a head start.

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:13 pm

eddie wrote:
Original Quill wrote:

Why so few cases in Russia?

I read or heard that they were better at testing for it immediately and so had a head start.

I think it's evident that Russia knew something before the rest of the world. Might have been tests. Might be a vaccine. Might even be a cure. Why don't they share it with the rest of us?

by eddie Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:26 pm

Original Quill wrote:
eddie wrote:
Original Quill wrote:

Why so few cases in Russia?

I read or heard that they were better at testing for it immediately and so had a head start.

I think it's evident that Russia knew something before the rest of the world. Might have been tests. Might be a vaccine. Might even be a cure. Why don't they share it with the rest of us?

Perhaps you’re right, I’m all ears when it comes to “conspiracies”. How would they have known before the rest of the world? Are you suggesting it was a man-made virus? If not, then how could they have known before China when even the Chinese didn’t know?

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:54 pm

eds wrote:Are you suggesting it was a man-made virus?

Why so few coronavirus cases in Russia? 2190311264

And the mole in the White House seems bent on making it worse, doing all the wrong things, at the wrong times. Was this all pre-scripted?

by eddie Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:22 pm

Original Quill wrote:
eds wrote:Are you suggesting it was a man-made virus?

And the mole in the White House seems bent on making it worse, doing all the wrong things, at the wrong times. Was this all pre-scripted?

You didn’t answer my questions and I’d hoped you would so I could consider the ideas you put forward. scratch

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:01 pm

eds wrote:You didn’t answer my questions and I’d hoped you would so I could consider the ideas you put forward.

I don't have the answer. At this point it's only a working hypothesis. But we have a virus. And we seem to have a part of the world that is immune to it. They aren't participating in any joint task forces. They don't seem to be sharing data. They are just sitting back there and watching the rest of the world.

We know Russia is led by a former Soviet spymaster. And he is proficient in biological warfare. He is also proficient in all sorts of poisons, and not afraid to use them, as we saw with Sergei Skripal, in Salisbury. The Russians are heavily invested in research of all kinds, as we see with the IRA in St. Petersburg. In short, it's a workable hypothesis...but nothing conclusive.

by eddie Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:03 pm

Thank you for answering, I wasn’t trying to trick you into a corner, that isn’t my way, by the way.

Do you think it’s possible that Russia created the virus?

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:17 pm

eddie wrote:Thank you for answering, I wasn’t trying to trick you into a corner, that isn’t my way, by the way.

It was a very civil question, that deserved a civil and truthful answer.

eddie wrote:Do you think it’s possible that Russia created the virus?

That is a plausible possibility, one that I think might be explored. It wouldn't have occurred to me had I not received such defining silence from that part of the world. Usually, Russians are active and quite noisey about world events...trying to intrude themselves like the wannabe world leaders that they aren't.

They have certainly been ballsy, as in their hold over Trump...and their meddling in the 2016 election. Strange that they are so silent now. Maybe it was something that got out of hand.

by eddie Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:26 pm

Original Quill wrote:
eddie wrote:Thank you for answering, I wasn’t trying to trick you into a corner, that isn’t my way, by the way.

It was a very civil question, that deserved a civil and truthful answer.

eddie wrote:Do you think it’s possible that Russia created the virus?

That is a plausible possibility, one that I think might be explored. It wouldn't have occurred to me had I not received such defining silence from that part of the world. Usually, Russians are active and quite noisey about world events...trying to intrude themselves like the wannabe world leaders that they aren't.

They have certainly been ballsy, as in their hold over Trump...and their meddling in the 2016 election. Strange that they are so silent now. Maybe it was something that got out of hand.

That’s pretty interesting and certainly food for thought. I hadn’t considered that line of thinking if I’m honest. If you find anything more, or have any more thoughts on it, please post it up. Thanks.

by Ben Reilly Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:30 pm

I find the idea that this virus was engineered (by anybody) to be implausible simply because I figure anybody clever enough to do it would, logically, be clever enough to realize that it would backfire and kill indiscriminately.

by Maddog Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:33 pm

I'm sure the Chinese would be thrilled to know that the Russians killed thousands of their people.

by Original Quill Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:46 pm

Ben Reilly wrote:I find the idea that this virus was engineered (by anybody) to be implausible simply because I figure anybody clever enough to do it would, logically, be clever enough to realize that it would backfire and kill indiscriminately.

I would have thought that Trump could not be elected, too. In fact, he lost by 3-million votes. But someone found a way to manipulate the electoral college, and I don't think that was chance.

So...it's the age we live in. Implausibility is no longer a possibility. And on the side-bar that it might backfire, it probably did. We know Putin was amazed that the manipulation of the 2016 election worked.

But for the unintended consequences, this may be a repeat.

by 'Wolfie Wed Mar 25, 2020 12:02 am

Russia's had some of the tighest border controls and immigration rules going, for the last couple of centuries...

So no real surprise that even some virus strains might have found it tough going invading that country (Many have failed on that score, including Napolean and Hitler..).

Maybe the virus has already crossed over into some of the Asiatic regions of Russia, but hasn't been added to Moscows tally yet ?

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