WATCH Russian biodefense troops disinfect nursing home in coronavirus-hit Italy

Experts from Moscow's biodefense unit have been deployed at the epicenter of the deadly Covid-19 outbreak in Italy, tasked with disinfecting a nursing home where patients died amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A Russian military biological and chemical protection team was dispatched to the Martino Zanchi nursing home in the city of Bergamo in Italy's northern Lombardy region on Friday.

Going from room to room, anti-epidemic specialists in hazmat suits and respirators sprayed disinfectant on all furniture, including beds and mattresses. They also thoroughly disinfected floors, walls and ceilings because traces of Covid-19 are known to have been found on many types of surfaces.

Last month, 20 people died in the nursing home as authorities struggled to contain the coronavirus in Bergamo.

The disease has been raging across Italy since February, with Lombardy being the hardest hit region, where local health systems were completely overwhelmed.

Russia has airlifted vital medical supplies and disease control experts to Italy as part of an effort to help the country slow down the spread of the coronavirus.

Italy currently has the second-highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, with nearly 86,500 people testing positive for the virus. More than 9,130 people have died, with 919 new deaths recorded on Friday.

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