MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2020) The coronavirus high risk group includes not only the elderly but also people who are overweight and those who have diabetes, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told Sputnik.
"The most susceptible to the disease are people over the age of 65 who have cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, a lung or bronchial condition. But there are patients in serious condition today who have not even reached the age of forty," Murashko said.
The health minister warned that alcohol consumption made it a lot more difficult to treat people with COVID-19.
"So alcohol is clearly not recommended in this situation. Let's agree, right now, it is harmful in any amount. The same applies to smoking. There have been rumors that it allegedly kills the coronavirus. That's absurd," Murashko told Sputnik.
The health minister explained that smokers usually have some kind of lung or bronchial condition, which, in combination with COVID-19 "leads to nothing good."
The minister advised to eat balanced meals and to exercise regularly in a well-ventilated room.
"Everything that strengthens the immune system is beneficial right now. Apart from that, the seasonal increase in levels of insolation and air temperature is also to our advantage. True, we'll have to wait for the stable plus 25 [Celsius, or 77 Fahrenheit]. Then, everything will be fine for sure," Murashko told Sputnik.
According to the Russian government, more than 1,500 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, 64 people have recovered, while 8 people have died from COVID-19 in the country.
Over 721,800 coronavirus cases and almost 34,000 deaths from COVID-19 have been registered globally, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported on Saturday that an infant younger than one year who had tested positive for COVID-19 died in Chicago. An investigation is underway into the exact cause of the 9-month-old's death, which has raised doubts about the assumption that babies and children are largely unaffected by COVID-19.
