“Our actions must be reasonable and professional. Thanks to such an approach, we managed to win time today and the explosive spread of the coronavirus infection in previous weeks. And we need to fully and efficiently use the time we have saved”, Putin said.
The president once again called on the elderly citizens of Russia to stay home amid the outbreak.
The president added that everything possible was being made to prevent the coronavirus from affecting a large number of people in the country, noting that it is important to take into account all the scenarios and use the experience of other countries in the fight against the spread of the infection.
"Today, everything is being made so that the [COVID-19] threat does not affect a large number of people. But all regions [of Russia] should be prepared and we should take into account all scenarios of development of the situation using experience of other countries", Putin said.
The president added that the measures being implemented in Russia to fight the new coronavirus are very important, even though they might seem excessive to citizens.
"It is better to be safe than sorry", the president said.
Additional Reserve of Medications
President Putin also called for the creation of an additional reserve of medications to treat the coronavirus disease in the country.
"The most important issue is medication supply. An additional reserve should be created for all medications that are currently used to combat coronavirus and disease-related complications", Putin said.
He went on to say that he ordered to create additional COVID-19 diagnostics facilities in Russian regions as well as to provide swift registration of new tests for the new coronavirus.
"It is necessary to use all our laboratory capacity, as well as to create additional diagnostics centers, both in public and private medical organisations. Thanks to this we would rapidly increase the volume of testing for the coronavirus in the coming days. Also, [we have to] evaluate the capacities of relevant manufacturers to involve them in the production of efficient [COVID-19] testing systems. A number of such tests have been created in Russia. I request you to provide rapid registration of new testing systems. Please, do not drag this out", Putin told his representatives in federal districts.
Coronavirus in Russia
Russia has registered 1,836 cases of coronavirus, up 302 for the past 24 hours. Nine people have died while 66 people have recovered from the disease.
Moscow authorities have imposed a self-isolation regime in the capital, urging all people to stay home unless they have to go to work that cannot be done distantly, buy essentials, get urgent medical treatment, walk the dog within 330 feet of their home, and take out the trash.
Last week, the president declared a non-working week between 28 March and 8 April, with people retaining their full wages for this period, as a way to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
