MINSK, April 5. /TASS/. A total of 10,000 Russian coronavirus testing systems have been transported to Belarus on a non-repayable basis, the Russian Embassy in Belarus reported on Saturday.
"This is one more episode. We, as fraternal peoples, supporting each other at a time when trouble comes to our homes, look into the future together," stressed Russian Ambassador to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev who met the humanitarian cargo.
According to the ambassador, the delivery of testing systems to Belarus confirms the allied nature of relations between the two countries. He stressed that the parties were ready to share their experiences with each other in the fight against the spread of coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Natalia Zhukova, Deputy Minister of Health and Chief Sanitary Doctor of Belarus, noted that Belarusian specialists had been in touch with their Russian counterparts amid the pandemic. She thanked Russia for its support.
In late December 2019, Chinese officials 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 1,000,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 55,000 deaths have been reported. The number of coronavirus cases in Belarus has reached 440, five people have died.