There is no need for hard quarantine in Russia, The World Health Organization (WHO)'s representative in Russia, Melita Vujnovic, said on Thursday. Vujnovic stated that Russia's efforts to fight coronavirus were in line with the organisation's recommendations and that Moscow was "one step ahead" in its fight against COVID-19.
"The measures that Russia has been implementing from the very first day when the WHO received a notification from China that there is a new virus, are wonderful, because this is not just one measure, but a whole set of measures, which is being expanded", Vujnovic said at a press conference.
"Russia has practically advanced beyond the infection thanks to its preparedness, including both epidemic surveillance and self-isolation", the official added.
The WHO’ representative also said that if Russia and Moscow maintain self-discipline, a strict quarantine will not be necessary as there are examples of countries that had managed to contain the virus even without implementing harsh measures, such as Japan.
Earlier Vujnovic praised Moscow's efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
Prior to this, the Russian government dismissed "theoretical discussions" about the introduction of a "state of emergency" in Russia amid the coronavirus pandemic, calling them "hardly appropriate".
"We have no epidemic de facto, and the situation in our country is, de facto, much better than in many other countries. Obviously, thanks to the measures that the government has already started implementing in a timely manner", Vladimir Putin's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The Kremlin spokesman noted that Russia was preparing for different scenarios for the virus' spread.
There are currently around 840 reported cases of coronavirus in Russia, most of them in Moscow.