Russia delivers over 100,000 Covid-19 test kits to 13 states, including Iran & North Korea

After Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said earlier this week that Russia has no shortage of coronavirus testing kits, Moscow has delivered sets to 13 countries, public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said on Saturday.

The Russian-manufactured equipment will be capable of conducting over 100,000 tests for Covid-19, and has already been used to track down the first cases of the disease in Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Moscow is due to ship kits to Serbia, Iran, and North Korea as well as to Egypt and Venezuela, among others. 

The move comes as the number of registered cases of coronavirus in Russia itself grew to 306 on Saturday.

The country's virology and biotech research center, known as the Vector Institute, which develops testing tools, is also currently working on several vaccine prototypes for Covid-19.

Many states have been struggling to test people en masse for Covid-19, including the US, where numerous reports claim that the lack of swabs and other materials has stymied the work of  health officials. 

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