Authorities fear Moscow could see coronavirus hospital bed shortage in coming weeks

Moscow could face a hospital bed shortage to treat a spike of new coronavirus patients in the coming weeks, Russian authorities warned Tuesday.

The capital city has been the hardest-hit Russian municipality by the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and has implemented strict lockdown precautions in an effort to slow the spread.

“The operational headquarters predicts that despite the inclusion of an increasing number of state, federal and commercial clinics, a shortage of beds in redeveloped hospitals is possible in the next two to three weeks,” Moscow’s health department said.

The city has scrambled to adjust its hospitals to treat an influx of new patients and has made thousands of beds available, Reuters reported.

But while Russia has reported notably lower infection rates and death tolls from the virus than the rest of Europe, experts have warned the country remains in the earlier stages of the virus’s spread.

Russia has reported 21,102 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 170 deaths and 1,694 recoveries, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Russia has a population of 144.5 million.