MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/: The Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare has delivered over 100,000 COVID-19 test kits to 13 states, the watchdog’s press service informed on Saturday, adding that delivery to three more states is planned.
"The Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare has handed over the test systems developed by the Vector research center that allow to hold over 100,000 tests for COVID-19 to 13 states, including member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Iran, Mongolia, the DPRK. Delivery [of test systems] to Egypt, Serbia and Venezuela is planned," the message informs.
The press service notes that Russian test kits helped detect first cases of the novel coronavirus in Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
"The Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare will continue to provide material, technical and methodical aid to foreign partners in order to avoid the global spread of the novel coronavirus," the federal service added.
A pneumonia outbreak caused by the COVID-19 virus (previously known as 2019-nCoV) was reported in China’s city of Wuhan, a large trade and industrial center with a population of 12 million, in late December 2019. Cases of the new coronavirus have also been reported in more than 150 countries and territories, including Russia, which by now has over 250 cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the novel coronavirus cases across the globe have exceeded 240,000, with more than 10,000 deaths. WHO has officially described the situation with the novel coronavirus as a pandemic.
