Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

The price of ventilators in Russia has skyrocketed as the country’s greedy oligarchs reportedly snap them up for private use during the COVID-19 outbreak.

As most of Europe experiences surging numbers of COVID-19 patients, Russia’s confirmed cases have remained relatively low.

The country was the first to close its border with China on 30th January, and so far 438 people have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to local media, wealthy Russian families are trying to buy up all the stocks of ventilators for their private mansions.

Ventilators help sick patients with breathing difficulties and are reportedly needed in stricken countries such as Italy and Spain right now.

Even though they need to be operated by medical professionals with training, Russia’s 96 billionaires are said to be snapping them up for prices such as 2 million RUB (21,275 GBP).

The increased demand for ventilators has reportedly led to an eight-month waiting list for new ones.

The Moscow Times report said that Russia has around 43,000 ventilators in state hospitals which equates to approximately 29 per 100,000 people.

In Italy, there are only around eight ventilators per 100,000 patients, according to reports.

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