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Russian fed agency asking tour operators to inform tourists on coronavirus

A report placed at Rostourism’s website Friday says new cases of illnesses caused by a novel coronavirus
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, May 24 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s Federal Agency for Tourism /Rostourism/ has asked the tour companies across the country to inform the customers planning trips to Qatar, Jordan, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, France, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia on the importance of observing safety precautions in the wake of the outbreak of diseases caused by a new strain of coronavirus.

A report placed at Rostourism’s website Friday says new cases of illnesses caused by a novel coronavirus are emerging in various countries.

“Tour operators and travel agencies have been informed on the recommendations of the Federal Service for the Protection of Consumer Rights /Rospotrebnadzor/ for preventing the ‘imported’ cases of diseases caused by the virus,” the report said.

According to the latest data, as many as 44 cases of illnesses caused by the new coronavirus have been confirmed by laboratory testing. A total of twenty-one persons have died.

The incidence is the biggest in Saudi Arabia - 31 cases and 15 deaths. Solitary patients have been reported in Qatar, Jordan, Britain, the UAE, France, and Tunisia. Almost all of those people made trips to Saudi Arabia.

The World Health Organization has urged the medical authorities in all the member states to watch closely all the cases of severe acute respiratory infections /SARI/, should the patients develop them in the wake of trips to the Middle East.

Particular attention should be given to the cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome /MERS-CoV/, even if the patients display atypical symptoms like diarrhea.

The WHO has also alerted hospitals worldwide to the importance of scrupulously following all the updates on recommendations or prophylaxis in connection with the incidence of diseases related to the novel coronovirus.