MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Military medics will provide assistance in treating coronavirus patients in the Moscow Region at the regional governor’s request, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said at the ministry’s conference call on Friday.

"I know that today a request has come from the governor of the Moscow Region for our medical teams: resuscitation, nursing and doctor-nurse teams. A decision on providing assistance has been made," the defense minister said.

The Army must today support those who are in a difficult situation, including defense enterprises, Shoigu stressed.

"We are working there [at defense enterprises] because the defense procurement plan must undoubtedly be fulfilled. Those measures, which we have mapped out for the operation and for the support of the operation of defense industry enterprises, must be implemented fully and unconditionally," the defense minister said.

Russia’s defense minister earlier said that the Armed Forces had set up a reserve for assisting Russian regions and formed 65 resuscitation, doctor and nurse teams.

New coronavirus cases in the Moscow Region have grown by 611 over the past twenty-four hours to 7,889 or 11.5% of the country’s tally.

To date, a total of 68,622 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 5,568 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 615 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.