MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. Russian industries are producing almost 9 million face masks per day as well as more than 250,000 protective suits and 380,000 liters of antiseptic, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Monday at a meeting of the anti-coronavirus crisis center.

He underlined that in the first weeks of the epidemic Russia just like many other countries faced a tough challenge of availability of masks and other personal protective equipment since "nowhere in the world was such equipment produced in quantities needed." "We urgently rolled out these operations, repurposed many businesses to ramp up productive capabilities to make medical equipment, personal protective equipment and all kinds of coronavirus tests," the prime minister underlined.

"The government allocated 33 billion rubles ($475 million - TASS) to these ends. Today, the industry and trade ministry data shows that Russian businesses daily produce almost 9 million face masks, more than 250,000 protective suits and more than 380,000 liters of antiseptics," Mishustin said, adding that ramped up production improved availability of these vital items.

The prime minister pointed out that timely mass testing and preventative measures play a major role in fighting coronavirus. "Overall, more than 10 million such tests were carried out in this period. This work will undeniably continue in full," he stressed.

Mishustin also lauded selfless efforts of medical staff. According to him, more than 80,000 doctors, 130,000 nursing staff and 50,000 junior staff are caring after coronavirus patients in Russia. "I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of them," he said.

To date, a total of 414,878 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 175,877 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 4,855 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.