Russia: First patients arrive at Dagestan field hospital

The first patients arrived on Monday at the field hospital on Monday in the town of Buinaksk in the North Caucasus where a number of residents have contracted COVID-19, including the mayor.

The Defence Ministry organised the creation of the field hospital in the Dagestan town, where 70 medical specialists will work.

Dagestan has become one of the hardest-hit regions in Russia, with reports of mass infections in secluded mountain villages and overflowing hospitals.

The republic's medical services have struggled to contain the virus and federal authorities have dispatched doctors and equipment.

There have been 4,200 official cases of the virus in Dagestan as of Monday, with nearly 97 deaths.

In the neighbouring region of North-Ossetia-Alania the number of new daily cases has been decreasing, but the ambulances still have to wait up to five hours with patients lying under ventilators.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.