Putin, Trump discuss closer cooperation in fight against COVID-19

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Monday discussed closer collaboration in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease during a phone talk, the Kremlin said.

“The heads of state expressed serious concern over the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the world and informed each other about measures taken in their countries to counter this threat. The possibilities of closer interaction between the two countries in this direction were discussed,” it said in a statement.

They also discussed the current state of the world oil market, agreeing upon Russian-U.S. consultations on the subject through energy ministers, according to the Kremlin.

“Some issues of bilateral relations are touched,” it said, adding that the two presidents agreed to continue personal contacts.

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Russia registers 1,836 COVID-19 cases, 9 deaths

Russia has registered a total of 1,836 cases of COVID-19 in 71 regions of the country as of Monday, including a daily record of 302 new cases in the last 24 hours, official data showed.

The death toll rose to nine after a patient in the Pskov Region died of the disease, Russia’s coronavirus response center said in a statement.

So far, 66 people have recovered, including two in the last 24 hours, it said.

Moscow is the worst hit part of the country, with 212 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 1,226 in the Russian capital.

To prevent the spread of coronavirus, President Vladimir Putin declared a week of paid leave for all citizens beginning March 30.

The entire Moscow region introduced mandatory self-isolation for all residents on Monday, with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin urging all regional governors to adopt similar restrictions.

Source: Xinhua