Russian medics manage to minimize losses from COVID-19 - Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Russian medics have managed to bring the losses from COVID-19 to a minimum, TASS reports.

"I am sure that you have done everything you could and more, showing real wonders of professionalism. What’s most important is that you have brought the losses to a minimum, this is your achievement!" the Russian leader said during a video call with Russian medics on Saturday.

Putin hopes that a vaccine against COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus, will appear in the near future.

"Let’s hope that a vaccine will appear in the very near future," the president said.

"The fact that we have drugs [against the coronavirus], to my mind, the best in the world on their quality and pureness, demonstrate the high level of Russian science in the field of research," Putin noted.

Clinical testing of the vaccine developed by the Gamalei National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology began on June 18. Eighteen volunteers have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. The testing is expected to conclude in late July. In early August, it will be clear whether the vaccine can be used among the Russian population.

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.