MOSCOW, May 4. /TASS/. The spread of COVID-19 in Russia may reach a peak in the next two weeks, after which it should plateau, Vladimir Chulanov, deputy chief of the National Medical Research Center for Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Disease, said on the Rossiya-1 TV channel on Sunday.

"We should expect a peak in the next two weeks, after which we should reach the so-called plateau, stabilization of the infection rate, and then, [the spread of the coronavirus] should gradually slow," he said.

Meanwhile, Vasily Akimkin, head of the Central Research Center of Epidemiology under the Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare, stated that the stabilization of the epidemiological situation in Moscow and the Moscow Region should be expected in late June-early July. The expert also predicts a second wave of infection in fall or winter season.

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.

According to the latest statistics, over 3,400,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 240,000 deaths have been reported. To date, a total of 134,687 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 16,639 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 1,280 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.