MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/. Only 25% of those who have recovered from the coronavirus infection have enough antibodies in their blood to use it to treat other patients, chief of Russia’s Federal Medical Biological Agency Veronika Skvortsova said on Friday.

"From among those recovering at hospitals and the Agency’s centers, only 25% have enough antibodies as their concentration is to be at least one to 1,000," she told an online news conference organized by TASS.

She recalled that blood plasma can be taken only from those aged from 18 to 50 who have no chronic diseases or contradictions. "Such patients account for about 50% of those discharged from hospitals. One 50% of these patients have enough antibodies," she explained.

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 4,543,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 303,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 1,712,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, a total of 262,843 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 58,226 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 2,418 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.