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Putin’s schedule speaks volumes about his state of health, Kremlin says

The Kremlin spokesman said he had no information as to whether the president had been tested for the novel coronavirus and what was the result

MOSCOW, March 18./TASS/. The work schedule of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is daily holding several events, speaks volumes about the state of his health, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday.

"The public work schedule of the president itself testifies in the best way to his state of health," he said. "All that is necessary to protect the president against the viruses and other diseases is being done round-the-clock," Peskov stressed. He said he had no information as to whether the president had been tested for the novel coronavirus and what was the result, promising to specify this information.

On Tuesday, the president’s schedule included four events. He addressed a board session of the General Prosecutor’s Office, visited the coronavirus monitoring center, had a session with the government as well as met with the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova. On Wednesday, the president is heading to Crimea, where he is scheduled for a number of events both on Wednesday and on Thursday.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. On March 11, WHO officially characterized the situation with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic. The disease has spread to over 130 countries. According to latest reports, over 190,000 people have been infected with the virus globally, and about 8,000 have died. There are 114 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Russia.