BELGRADE, April 16. /TASS/. Russian military medics examined and helped treat 28 coronavirus patients in the Serbian city of Nis, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

"Two teams of doctors and nurses took part in examining and treating COVID-19 patients at the hospital of the city of Leskovac and at the Nis clinical center. Overall, they received 28 patients," the ministry said in a statement.

The Russian specialists also assessed and analyzed the epidemic situation at medical institutions in the cities of Pancevo and Subotica and checked the readiness to receive patients in the gym of a Nis educational facility where hospital beds were installed and medical equipment and medicines were delivered, the statement says.

"Such Covid-centers are also being deployed on the premises of social facilities in various cities of the country," Russia’s Defense Ministry informed.

The Russian military medics also consulted the heads and specialists of the Serbian Defense Ministry’s Military Academy where the center for receiving patients is being deployed and gave recommendations on measures for receiving and sorting out patients.

"The Russian combined group operating in the Republic of Serbia has carried out a set of disinfection measures at 35 facilities in eight cities of the Republic of Serbia (Belgrade, Nis, Valjevo, Backa Topola, Krusevac, Cuprija, Palic and Novi Sad)," the ministry specified.

The Russian military medics examined and helped treat a total of 294 coronavirus patients in Serbia, the statement says.

Serbia earlier requested Russia’s assistance in fighting the novel coronavirus. On April 3-4, Russian military transport planes promptly delivered 87 military medics and virologists, special medical equipment, individual protection kits and 16 vehicles to Serbia.

Apart from Belgrade and Valjevo, the Russian military medics were expected to work in Cuprija, Novi Sad, Nis, Kragujevac and Kikinda.

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.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 2,088,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 134,700 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 515,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.