Russia testing 8 existing and 22 new drugs to treat COVID-19, says deputy PM

Society & Culture April 01, 2020, 21:32

The 22 new drugs have been developed at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

NOVO-OGARYOVO, April 1. /TASS/. Russia is currently testing eight existing and 22 newly developed drugs to determine whether they can combat the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova informed on Wednesday during a video call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. She added that the results will be ready on April 10.

"Currently, we are researching eight drugs already registered in the Russian Federation. We will have verifiable data on their effectiveness against the novel coronavirus infection on April 10," Golikova said. She added that 22 new drugs developed at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences are also being tested, with the results set to be made available on April 10.

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.

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