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Coronavirus pandemic

Over 20,000 hospital beds for coronavirus patients to be set up in Moscow

Another 24 hospitals will be repurposed for the treatment of suspected coronavirus patients

© Denis Grishkin/Press Service of Moscow Mayor and the Moscow Government/TASS

MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. About 21,000 hospital beds for coronavirus patients will be set up in Moscow, the city’s Healthcare Department said in a statement.

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"Another 24 hospitals will be repurposed for the treatment of suspected coronavirus patients in the next ten days. That said, about 21,000 hospital beds for coronavirus patients will be set up at the Healthcare Department’s facilities," the statement reads.

According to the health authority, doctors specializing in other diseases will be moved to other hospitals.

Coronavirus pandemic

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, 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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