BERGAMO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st April, 2020) Russian medical teams together with their Italian counterparts have begun setting up a hospital for COVID-19 patients in the Lombardy city of Bergamo, one of the hotbeds of the novel coronavirus epidemic in Europe, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
On March 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to discuss the COVID-19 situation. Afterward, Russia sent its epidemiologists from the Russian Defense Ministry to Italy.
"Russian doctor-nurse teams together with their Italian colleagues have started furnishing incentive care units in a clinic created in the city of Bergamo to treat patients infected with the coronavirus," the ministry said in a statement.
The clinic, planned for 142 beds, will admit its first patients in early April. More than 200 specialists will be involved, with the Russian and Italian teams working in several shifts.
"Italian specialists are taking into account the expertise of their Russian colleagues and our country's strict epidemic security standards while equipping resuscitation units, intensive care [units], and rehabilitation units," the ministry added.
The Russian and Italian specialists have already disinfected 14 retirement homes in the Lombardy region.
Italy, especially Lombardy, is the world's second most affected country in terms of COVID-19 cases after the United States, having already confirmed 105,792 cases, according to the country's Health Ministry. The global infection toll has surpassed 860,000 as of Wednesday.
