MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) - Russian military primary care doctors, anesthesiologists, emergency physicians, and epidemiologists and their Italian colleagues working in a field hospital in Bergamo have admitted 31 Covid-19 patients for treatment, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"Eight such patients have already recovered and have been discharged from the hospital," the ministry said in a statement obtained by Interfax on Tuesday.
Together with Italian colleagues, servicemen of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops have disinfected healthcare establishments in 55 localities of Lombardy, it said.
"Fifty-nine buildings and other facilities, more than 370,000 square meters of indoor premises, and over 45,000 square meters of hard-surface roads have been sanitized," it said.
Russian Defense Ministry translators are also on duty all the time, accompanying brigades of doctors and nurses, it said.
"The group of Russian specialists includes 13 translators ensuring communication between Russian doctors, patients, and Italian medics round-the-clock. Russian translators are also included in the teams in charge of disinfecting and sanitizing care homes for the elderly. They are ensuring Russian servicemen's communication with the Italian military and the administrations of populated localities and healthcare establishments," the ministry said.
The Italian Civil Protection Department said on Monday evening that over the past 24 hours, 566 Covid-19 patients had died in the country, 1,363 new cases had been identified, and 1,224 people had recovered. According to the department, Italy currently has 159,500 Covid-19 cases, and more than 20,400 such patients have died.
Lombardy remains Italy's worst-affected region, followed by Emilia Romagna and Veneto.