MOSCOW, July 19./TASS/. Russia’s ‘sanitary shield’ must be created through the deployment of a network of labs across the country for quick and accessible diagnostics of infections, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Monday. 

"In your address, you pointed to the need to create a ‘sanitary shield’ in Russia. This is what one of our initiatives is called," Mishustin told a session of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects, addressing the Russian president.

"We are speaking about the deployment of a network of labs with quick and accessible diagnostics of infections across the country, to decode any unknown virus and develop a test system to identify it within a short period of time, to promptly produce efficient and safe vaccines," Mishustin told President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, Vladimir Putin said during his address to the Russian Federal Assembly that Russia must have "a strong and secure shield" in the sphere of sanitary and biological safety that would use Russian equipment and components to the greatest possible extent.