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On March 24th, Italy registered a high number of fatalities to COVID-19 – 743, and a moderate number of new infections (keeping in mind its own numbers) of 5,249.
The total number of cases sits at 69,176, out of which 8,326 have recovered, and 6,820 have resulted in death.
The Russian experts sent to assist Italy are operating out of Bergamo and as of March 24th were setting out plans of operation on tackling the spread.
On the morning of March 25th, a 15th Russian IL-76 military transport plane took off from Chkalovsky aerodrome, near Moscow and will also fly to Pratica di Mare Air Base near Rome, a statement of the Ministry of Defense said.
“In agreement with the Italian side, the first area for the use of Russian military specialists who arrived in Italy as part of assistance to combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus infection will be the city of Bergamo (administrative region of Lombardy, Italy),” the statement said.
It was noted that at present, the Russian military, together with Italian colleagues, are preparing to move special military equipment and equipment to the designated area and agree on traffic routes.
In Russia itself, more than 3,200 soldiers were tested for coronavirus, and all tests came out negative, the Ministry of Defense said.
“In the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, 3,214 tests of military personnel for coronavirus were carried out, all the results are negative, there are no cases,” the ministry said.
The department noted that in 32 military hospitals, special departments have been deployed with a total capacity of 3 591 beds. In addition, 2,782 mechanical ventilation devices were deployed.
“There are nine operational teams for monitoring the sanitary and epidemiological situation. 15 modern multifunctional mobile modular complexes have been deployed to identify the causative agent of coronavirus infection,” the Defense Ministry said.
In addition, 5,537 stationary thermometry checkpoints were deployed in units of the Russian army, and 1, 647 special schedules were set out to conduct disinfection of areas.
Meanwhile, the United States’ response to the COVID-19 spreading appears to be winding down, as US President Donald Trump expressed his expectation that the epidemic would have passed and everybody would be able to return to work by Easter Sunday – Sunday 12th.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said on Fox News on March 23rd that “lots of” grandparents would be willing to die in order to save the economy for their grandchildren.
No one reached out to me and said, as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren? And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in,” Patrick said on air.
“I just think there are lots of grandparents out there in this country like me — I have six grandchildren — that’s what we all care about. … And I want to live smart and see through this, but I don’t want the whole country to be sacrificed. And that’s what I see,” he added.
US media reported that three sailors were tested on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, and all three tests came out positive for COVID-19.
A spokesman for the US Navy told The Hill that, despite infections, Theodore Roosevelt will continue to fulfill its mission.
Earlier in March, the ship called at the port of Vietnam, where naval officers were allowed to go ashore. American media believe that it was there that sailors could become infected with the coronavirus.
Washington also decided to send assistance to Italy – in the form of packaging beds, mattresses, stretchers, IV poles, wheelchairs and linens.
All help is welcome, but these are also things that (at least publicly) Italy hasn’t said it has any need of. Ventilators are still in low supply, and it will keep being so.
Regardless, the US is attempting to do its part in assisting its allies.
.@USArmy supporting our Italian allies in a battle against #COVID19. The 405th AFSB @USAGItaly is packaging beds, mattresses, stretchers, IV poles, wheelchairs & linens for Humanitarian Assistance Program to the Lombardy region @US_EUCOM @ambasciatausa @21stTSC @ArmyMateriel pic.twitter.com/X0WSHTD90Q
— US Army Europe (@USArmyEurope) March 24, 2020
In Ukraine, 750,000 tests were sent to Ukraine, from the Chinese province of Guangzhou.
A Ukrainian member of parliament, from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s political party, Alexander Dubinsky said that they didn’t make it to the Ukrainian regions.
The parliamentarian accused the PR staff of the “Servant of the People” party that they tried to shift the responsibility for the incident to the regional elites. He also stressed that the currently available tests will last only a few days.
“The media of the Presidential Office, obviously confident in their genius, began to rock the topic that now the entire regional elite – governors, police chiefs and SBU – will immediately grab tests that arrived at night for themselves and their friends,” Dubinsky wrote on his blog.
According to him, the president’s office even compiles relevant lists. Thus, the current government is trying to divert attention from the fact that “insignificantly few” tests arrived in Ukraine.
“That 750 thousand tests disappeared somewhere along the way, and that each region received only miserable crumbs from needs, which will last only a few days,” the Ukrainian MP explained.
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky recorded a video message to the citizens of the country, in which he promised the delivery of ten million tests from China, “which will be distributed across all corners of Ukraine.”
As in most other policy within Ukraine, this appears to be backfiring.
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russia is the savior of mankind
It was profecied. Out of Russia will come hope. King of the North. Protector of Mankind.
Thank you Russia God Bless.
And Thank you for the help of the U.S. too. I give credit where credit is due.
Russia is love, Russia is life.
That picture is fkin gold :) Stoltenberg got seizure after seeing it :)
Western MSM is totally silence about Russia`s help, but the MSM and the EU are making false claims, that Russia` has made a big Covid-19 misinformation campaign.
Trumps speech is totally incoherent. He always have talked incoherently but in times of crisis such as now it becomes painfully obvious.