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Coronavirus pandemic

Russia among leaders in coronavirus tests, official says

NOVO-OGARYOVO, April 13. /TASS/. Russia ranks among the leaders in the number of coronavirus tests conducted, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told a meeting focusing on the current epidemiological developments in the country on Monday.

"Today, 1.36 million tests were carried out. We are among the leaders of countries who test their populations," she said, adding that Russia now has 10 coronavirus test kits licensed.

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. According to the latest statistics, over 1,800,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 114,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 428,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, a total of 18,328 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 1,470 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 148 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.

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