on March 22, the Russian Aerospace Forces are preparing to sends the Covid-19 response group to rescue Italy to counter the coronavirus outbreak.
Russia will provide teams of doctors, protective gear and medical equipment to Italy to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision followed an appeal by Italian PM Giuseppe Conte during a phone call with Vladimir Putin.
In response to a request from the Italian side, the Russian president confirmed his readiness to promptly provide the necessary assistance and outlined the specific parameters [of what Russia can offer],” the Kremlin’s press service reported.
Eight mobile teams of Russian military doctors and virologists, automotive complexes of aerosol disinfection of transport and territory, as well as medical equipment, are set to deploy in Italy.
Nine Il-76 military transport aircraft from Chkalovsky Airport will be involved in the operation. They will move nearly 100 virologists and epidemiologists, and eight medical teams with dozens of pieces of equipment to provide assistance in combating the coronavirus (COVID-19) to an airbase of the Italian Air Force near Rome.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s Zvezda TV published a video from Chkalovsky Airport (a military airbase near Shchyolkovo, Moscow Oblast). The video shows preparations of a COVID-19 response group, which is set to deploy in Italy.
Video Link: Link
The deliveries will be carried out through the Ministry of Defense with the involvement of aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces
The Russian COVID-19 response team includes viral agent defense experts that fought against anthrax and African plague.
“Most of them are leading experts in their field, they were directly involved in the elimination of outbreaks of African swine fever, anthrax, the development of a vaccine against Ebola and plague vaccines,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The group is led by Major General Sergey Kikot. He is a leading developer and specialist in the application of the latest examples of special processing systems. He has carried tasks of organizing work in difficult epidemiological conditions of outbreaks of anthrax peptic ulcer and liquidation of flood consequences.
Colonel Aleksey Smirnov is a leading epidemiologist and a candidate of medical sciences. He has been actively involved in the development of a vaccine against Ebola.
Lieutenant Colonel Gennady Eremin is a leading scientist at the research center, and a candidate of medical sciences. Eremin is an expert in the field of organization and employment of anti-epidemiological measures. He has experience in dealing with such dangerous diseases as African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease.
Lieutenant Colonel Vyacheslav Kulish is a specialist in the development of protection against biological damaging agents of a viral nature. He participated in the development of antiplague drugs and vaccines against Ebola.
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Yumanov is an associate professor of the Military Medical Academy. S.M. Kirova and a candidate of medical sciences. He has participated in the deployment of a mobile hospital in the Republic of Guinea as part of an international program to combat Ebola.
There are already at least 4,825 deaths in Italy. This the highest number around the globe. Furthermore, there are only 6,072 people recovered from the COVID-19, while the total number of cases was 53,578. For example in China, 72,440 people recovered from the COVID-19, while there were 81,054 cases. The European health care system demonstrates its inability to contain the crisis.
