https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇷🇺" title="Flag of Russia" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Russia">Russia still has one of the world’s most inefficient health systems. Only the https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇸" title="Flag of United States" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of United States">U.S., https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇦🇿" title="Flag of Azerbaijan" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan and https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇧🇬" title="Flag of Bulgaria" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Bulgaria">Bulgaria are worse.

The coronavirus crisis is a reminder of the human cost of a stumbling health care system https://trib.al/rx4uGG5 ">https://trib.al/rx4uGG5&q...

Russia now has more than 290,000 Covid-19 cases and a rate of new infections that puts it second only to the U.S. — a country with more than twice as many people https://trib.al/rx4uGG5 ">https://trib.al/rx4uGG5&q...

The rapid spread of the coronavirus has exposed a healthcare system suffering from:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">Poor funding
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">Incomplete reforms
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">Missteps on drugs and medical equipment http://trib.al/rx4uGG5 ">https://trib.al/rx4uGG5&q...

Russia was too slow to appreciate the domestic infection risk, but the medical system also stumbled.

Anecdotal evidence suggests medical staff short of PPE inadvertently made the problem worse by mixing patients and continuing to work after falling ill http://trib.al/rx4uGG5 ">https://trib.al/rx4uGG5&q...

The healthcare system is buckling:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">400 Covid-19 hotspots associated with hospitals
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">Thousands of medics infected
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">An unofficial list shows more than 220 fatalities among medics
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">3 doctors have fallen from hospital windows in unclear circumstances http://trib.al/rx4uGG5 ">https://trib.al/rx4uGG5&q...

The biggest failure of Putin’s reforms may be the neglect of Russia’s regions.

Beyond the urban centers, much of the rest of the country is less well-equipped. Left by Putin to keep a lid on things locally, regional governors are struggling http://trib.al/rx4uGG5 ">https://trib.al/rx4uGG5&q...

There are signs of hope. Russia’s testing regime has improved dramatically.

But overall the future looks grim: The recession will be the worst since the end of the Soviet period. Investment in the health of ordinary Russians is unlikely to be a priority http://trib.al/rx4uGG5 ">https://trib.al/rx4uGG5&q...