MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. Russian doctors have carried out more than 7.1 mln tests for the novel coronavirus, the press service of the Russian sanitary watchdog, the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, said.

"More than 7.1 mln tests for the coronavirus have been conducted in the Russian Federation," the statement said. Over the past day, 230,000 tests have been carried out. The number of COVID-19 tests has doubled since late April.

Some 264,000 people remain under medical supervision over a suspected coronavirus infection, according to the watchdog.

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 4.5 mln people have been infected worldwide and more than 303,000 deaths have been reported.

To date, a total of 281,752 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 67,373 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 2,631 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.