MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Moscow authorities are expecting the city to hit the peak of the coronavirus outbreak in the next two-three weeks, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for social development Anastasia Rakova said.

"The near future is going to be tough for us all. Moscow will reach the coronavirus infection peak in the coming two-three weeks," she noted.

The official recalled that a large-scale operation is underway to repurpose hospital beds to accommodate coronavirus patients. However, she underlined that Muscovites still require other medical care and, therefore, the workload is increasing for all medical facilities and not just the ones dealing with COVID-19.

"Today, all services of the Moscow healthcare should work according to the same algorithm, same rhythm and in the same breath," Rakova added. She also thanked medical staff for their selflessness and unity in the face of the coronavirus crisis and expressed hope that their professionalism will help them to overcome these challenges.

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.

To date, a total of 32,008 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 2,590 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 273 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.