MOSCOW — The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, announces the start of home-testing for coronavirus by Yandex — a partner in “Alliance against coronavirus”.

At this initial stage, Moscow residents in the highest risk groups (the elderly and those above the age of 65) will be able to be tested by accredited laboratory services. As the number of tests in laboratories grows, home-testing will be expanded to include various age groups, as well as Russia’s regions.

The “Alliance against coronavirus” was created in March by the RDIF, RUIE (the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs), Yandex, Mail.ru Group and Rossiya Segodnya international news agency.

The main objective of the Alliance is to ensure operational testing of the population using the best available technologies, as well as industrial safety and uninterrupted operation of Russia’s largest enterprises.

Testing will be carried out, using innovative tests developed by EMG, which produce some of the most effective results for COVID-19 diagnostics. These tests provide high mobility, accuracy and speed.

Earlier Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF, announced the beginning of large-scale testing in April. Dmitriev said: “RDIF continues to work on organizing testing for coronavirus. The launch of home testing as part of our partnership in the Alliance will help to successfully identify infected individuals and prevent the spread of the virus thanks to this in-house format.

“We are continuing to contribute to the fight against coronavirus and are developing new convenient mobile testing formats that will minimize risks for both citizens and medical staff.” — SG