Paul
Goble
Staunton, April 26 – Cancer patients
at the Petrov Oncology Center in the northern capital have launched a petition drive
to oppose plans by officials to transform that institution into a hospital to
treat coronavirus victims. They point out that any interruption in cancer treatments
could be a death sentence (severreal.org/a/30577002.html).
What they don’t say but what their
protest highlights is just how thin and lacking in reserves Russia’s healthcare
system is after almost a decade of Vladimir Putin’s so-called “optimization”
program. The very idea that cancer patients should be sacrificed to improve
statistics for the Kremlin on the pandemic is repugnant.
Meanwhile, the pandemic has spread
to the Duma where one deputy has been hospitalized in serious conditions, and
others including support personnel have the virus. Given that the Duma has not
taken many measures to prevent the spread of the virus, it is likely even more
will come down with the disease soon (newsru.com/russia/25apr2020/kalashnikov.html).
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