MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Russia’s NHL Stanley Cup winner and three-time World Champion Alexander Ovechkin thanked all doctors worldwide for their work in the fight against the ongoing global spread of the novel coronavirus, according to the Twitter account of the Russian ice hockey star.

"Thank you to all doctors and hospital teams for everything you are doing," the 34-year-old NHL Washington Capitals captain Twitted. "We thank you! God bless!"

Capital’s captain Ovechkin is currently eighth in the list of the NHL All-Time Goals Leaders boasting 1,278 points (706 goals, 572 assists) in 1,152 matches. He is the also the 2018 Stanley Cup winner and the 2008, 2012, 2014 IIHF World Championships gold medalist in addition to his two silver and four bronze medals of the world championships.

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 1,440,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 83,000 deaths have been reported. That said, over 308,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, a total of 8,672 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 580 patients having recovered from the virus. Moscow accounts for the majority of cases (5,841). The country’s latest data indicates 63 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.