2020. Under the sign of Covid. Epidemic chronicle in Russia

Film of Documentary Project Radio Liberty "Signs of Life"

When in early January 2020, vague reports began to come from China about the "mysterious outbreak" of viral pneumonia, few assumed that under the sign of Covid it would pass all year - and even before the end they would be considered the worst year for many decades.

By February, Koronavirus spilled far beyond the borders of China, more and more people in masks became noticeable at the world airports, and the word “quarantine” appeared in the news, even if it seemed still quite exotic.

In March, the disease was recognized as a pandemia, and people began to get along with a new reality - the elbow, isolation, tests, terrible stories from hospitals, the economic crisis, the strongest since the Second World War.

In the summer, a wave of diseases went on decline, life slowly began to return to normal, people sought to make up for a lost in the spring - but with the onset of autumn the second wave of the epidemic came, even more difficult than the first, despite all the experience accumulated by physicians, and all resources thrown to combat the disease.

The 2020th new tightening of quarantine measures ends, with new Locksuns and the hope that with the help of unprecedentedly rapidly developed vaccines 2021, it will make sure with pandemia.

About the Coronavirus epidemic in Russia - the film "2020. under the sign of Covid", collected from fragments of films of documentary project Radio Liberty "Signs of Life", starred throughout the year.

The first message in the “Interfax” tape dedicated to the pandemic of coronavirus was dated January 9: “PRC scientists studying the mysterious outbreak of viral pneumonia in the central part of China discovered a new coronavirus strain ... As reported, obvious signs that the disease is transmitted from humans to a person, it is not revealed that the sick people could have Infected, in contact with animals, as well as with living seafood. "

Two weeks later, it became clear that the infection went around the world that it was transmitted between people, that there was no radical treatment, and it was only possible to alleviate the symptoms, and the first assessments spoke about the extreme contamination of the virus and a relatively high level of mortality, calculated in percentage, and not in its tenths, hundredths or thousandths. In China, they tried to hide the scale of the outbreak, but panic videos from the region’s epidemic spread over the networks.

By February, the virus reached the United States and Europe, the number of countries where they discovered infected, and began to be calculated in dozens. In airports, they began to introduce temperature checks, set for arriving quarantines. Infected appeared in Russia. Countries began to close the borders.

In March, the distribution of coronavirus was recognized as pandemia, and in Europe its own hearth appeared in northern Italy. The words "self -isolation" and "social distance" were included in use. It was necessary to get used to the new life, and the Internet was full of discussion than to take himself in isolation : remote work (if lucky), sports, self -development or idleness in anticipation of the opportunity to take out garbage - official pass for access to the street.

Then the reports on the number of new cases were spent on the “Exponential growth” and “level the curve of the disease”, they spoke about the urgent construction of special buildings under covid patients in the news, in social networks they discussed the lack of masks, sanitizers and other protective equipment even among the doctors and calculated the number of IVL apparatuses per capita.

The doctor of one regional hospital described the situation in the first weeks of the epidemic: “If there is a flash, there will be difficult patients, then natural selection in this hospital will simply begin. Because we have two and a half IVL apparatus: two IVL devices and one device that has a compressor. Medical workers are not provided with personal protective equipment, because we do not have anti -piccups, we do not have M95 or FFP respirators, we do We do not have special screens, we have no points, we do not have a skin antiseptic. " As a result of this, the doctor was accused of breeding panic.

The authorities introduced more and more stringent quarantine measures, while avoiding officially calling it quarantine. At the end of March, Vladimir Putin announced the "Non -Working Days" while preserving the salary - that is, the business was obliged to pay employees, despite the stop of the work. At the same time, the service economy was struck by a heavy blow: restaurants, bars, non -food shops, hotels, sports clubs and many other enterprises were closed - city life stopped, and at the same time, earnings for a huge number of people disappeared.

“If two weeks ago I was a medium -sized business, today I am a microbusiness,” said Anastasia Tatulova, founder of the Anderson Cafe network, at a meeting of entrepreneurs with Putin on March 26, which discussed the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny and many Russian economists called to provide the population and business with business, following the example of Western countries.

On April 15, Putin finallypromised support to small business : payments to employees for April and May for 12,310 rubles.

At the peak , the quarantine was tough : it was forbidden to move away from the house further than a few hundred meters and move around the city without passing. It was allowed to walk dogs, go to the nearest grocery store and to the pharmacy, subject to the distance and wear the mask. People over 60 were recommended to stay at home. The streets and yards patrolled.

The film "Outskirts. Quarantine" Nadi Zakharova

Doctors and vulture doctors later recalled what was happening as a war : “We will never be the same. I have not seen so many deaths for my medical life. I speak with my colleagues - with surgeons, by the way, they say: I haven’t seen it either. Yes, resuscitatists say the same thing: there are no deaths in ordinary life as we have seen here.”

By May, the graphics of the epidemic managed to "smooth out" and "level", quarantine began to soften. But many suspected that the official statistics of mortality were very diminished (later the authorities would explain that they used a methodology that differs from other countries).

It was suspected that the mitigation of quarantine was also caused by the desire to quickly hold a referendum on constitutional amendments, one of which was supposed to allow Vladimir Putin to run again to the presidency.

In the summer, the epidemic receded (partly, probably thanks to the hot weather and the stay of people on the street, where the risk of transferring the virus is less), and life began to return to the usual regime.

In the fall, however, everything returned, and the scale of the second wave of the epidemic is much, many times higher than spring levels. Despite all the experience gained, the healthcare system has stopped managing again. The ambulance came to the challenges through the clocks and then stood for hours in queues in hospitals to pass patients with suspicion of Covid.