Some US politicians, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have claimed that the Covid-19 outbreak started as a leak from a biolab in Wuhan, China – the city where the disease was first recorded in December 2019. Pompeo once even stated that the virus was “man-made,” in an apparent slip of the tongue.
“Claiming that [the pandemic] was caused by somebody unleashing it on purpose – there is absolutely no basis for it,” the Russian President said in an interview. “If somebody chooses to stick to this version, nothing good will come out of it.”
He added that the origin of the virus causing Covid-19 is for specialists to establish, but it’s ultimately not important in the big picture.
What we should do is fight against it and not dwell upon where it came from.
“Dealing with this pandemic effectively demands that we join our forces together instead of blaming each other,” Putin stated.
The remarks released by the Russia-1 federal television network on Sunday are part of a preview of an upcoming interview with the president.
Several high-ranking Russian officials were previously diagnosed with Covid-19, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. Both have since recovered and resumed work.In the interview, Putin also explained the safety protocols he observes amid the epidemic, saying he gets tested for the virus every three or four days. When asked if they all came back negative, Putin said “yes, thank God.”
The death toll from the virus has surpassed 9,000 in Russia, with 104 new fatalities since Saturday. The US and Brazil, the only two nations that have more recorded Covid-19 cases than Russia, have over 125,500 and 57,000 deaths respectively.On Sunday, the pandemic reached a grim milestone as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases globally surged past 10 million. Russia is among the nations with the largest reported number of infections. The total currently stands at 634,437, roughly 400,000 patients have already recovered from the disease.
