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World needs to take heed of Putin’s address on coronavirus — WHO official

According to the WHO representative, the organization had for years warned that the fight against global outbreaks was not only about healthcare but also about social and economic measures

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. It would be good if other countries took heed of the measures to combat the coronavirus that Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined in his address to the nation on Wednesday, the World Health Organization's representative in Russia Melita Vujnovic told the Future of Russia: National Projects web portal operated by TASS.

"In fact, I wanted to say yesterday: ‘Let’s ask Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] to address the WHO, all the countries’," she said.

According to Vujnovic, the World Health Organization had for years warned that the fight against global outbreaks was not only about healthcare but also about social and economic measures, which is what the Russian president made clear in his address. The WHO official added that she "immediately presented a report to the WHO regional director and the director-general." "They were surprised," Vujnuvic commented on their reaction to Putin’s address.

Vujnovic pointed out that the WHO was reviewing the practices and strategies to combat the coronavirus that countries were employing, including comprehensive measures in various fields. She also said that the WHO could learn a lesson from Russia’s experience.

Coronavirus pandemic

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, central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in more than 190 countries, including Russia.

The WHO on March 11 declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. As of now, over 457,000 people have been infected around the world and about 21,000 have died.

Russia has identified 840 coronavirus cases so far, 38 patients have recovered and two have died. The Russian government has set up an Internet hotline to keep the country’s people informed about the coronavirus situation.