MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Ninety-five laboratories operational in Russia are making 36,000 coronavirus tests daily, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday.

"According to the data of Rospotrebnadzor [Russia’s consumer rights watchdog], tests are being made throughout the country and Rospotrebnadzor’s 95 laboratories that are in operation are checking over 30,000 samples," the premier said while opening a session of the presidium of the Coordination Council for combating the novel coronavirus spread.

The premier specified that the labs were making about 36,000 coronavirus tests daily.

The production of test systems is actively expanding in Russia. The number of coronavirus tests is also growing. Laboratories of 193 health care organizations have been involved in this effort from March 19, Mishustin specified.

"During the first days, they handled slightly over 500 tests whereas now this figure is more than 12,000 daily," the premier stated.

Private companies are also joining this effort, Mishustin added.

"Their capacities make it possible to check about 2,000 samples per day," he noted. Therefore, Russia is among the world’s three leading countries by the number of tests, he stressed.

"All the tests are being made, using domestic test systems," Mishustin underscored, adding that Russia was continuing efforts to outfit laboratories with all the necessary equipment.

The Russian premier praised the work of the Rospotrebnadzor staff, whose efforts produced these results. "Such devotion to their work merits high praise," the premier said, adding that the laboratory tests were making it possible to identify infected persons and provide timely medical assistance to them.

"But it is no less important to take all efforts to stem the infection spread. It is necessary to exclude new imported coronavirus cases when the infection comes from abroad," the Russian premier highlighted.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. To date, more than 850,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 42,000 deaths have been reported.

So far, a total of 2,777 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 190 patients having recovered from the illness. The country’s latest data indicates 24 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public informed about the coronavirus situation.