The Russian government has lifted a temporary ban imposed earlier and allowed the export of medical masks and other protective equipment again. This follows from the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, RIA Novosti reports on Sunday, May 3.

Sergei Sobyanin pointed out that the Moscow authorities were using the capacity of all medical facilities to combat the infection.

The document states that the prohibition does not apply if there is no production of goods on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov while speaking in an exclusive interview to TASS First Deputy Director-General Mikhail Gusman suggested the agency might announce an international photo contest devoted to the struggle against the pandemic.

Lavrov invited the Malaysian foreign minister to visit Russia "at a convenient time".

Other testing kits are capable of only detecting the presence of antibodies, according to the chief of Russia’s sanitary watchdog.

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to prepare a new package of urgent measures to support business and citizens in the near future.

Lavrov noted that any contacts between people, including humanitarian, educational, scientific and tourist exchanges, are seriously limited.

To date, a total of 87,147 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia.

The Kremlin spokesman noted that in Italy and Spain the critical phase of the epidemic continued a month and a half at maximum.