WELCOME TO THE GAMES MR PUTIN

 yo!... are ya watchin mr trump?... innit!

in palookaville.. 

A LITTLE HUMILITY GOES A LONG WAY

...it has become clear in recent days that Russia is unlikely to escape a severe hit by the pandemic..

 presenting an existential test to the country’s teetering health system..

and a new challenge to the aura..

 of rising confidence and competence..

projected by Putin’s Kremlin..

“We have a lot of problems..

and we don’t have much to brag about..

nor reason to..

and we certainly can’t relax,”..

Putin told senior officials Monday in his bleakest comments on the crisis yet..

 “We are not past the peak of the epidemic, not even in Moscow.”

Putin warned of overworked medical staff and shortages of protective equipment,..

acknowledging what critics said was long clear..

that Russia’s health system could be strained..

beyond its breaking point..

by the pandemic..

and that the government needed to do more to get ready.

As footage of hourslong lines of ambulances..

outside Moscow emergency rooms..

ricocheted through Russian social networks..

over the weekend..

health officials went on state television..

and confirmed that the images were real..

A LITTLE HONESTY TOO

“We objectively did not pay very much attention,” ..

Golikova, the task force head..

admitted in an interview aired Sunday night..

 “to how effectively the infectious disease service needs to be prepared.”

By Monday, Russia’s total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 had reached 18,328..

double the level of five days earlier..

The number of deaths stood at 148..

a number widely seen as an undercount..

 amid reports of other causes of death..

being declared for people who were ill..

with COVID-like symptoms.

coming up..

on..

THE VIRUS GAMES

undercounting the cost..

early bath not called..

cheaters don't win..