MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. Over 22,000 people in Russia remain under medical observation over the novel coronavirus, the national consumer watchdog said in a statement on Thursday.
"A total of 62,541 people have undergone medical observation so far. As many as 22,178 people remain under monitoring as of March 18," the statement reads.
The watchdog added that as of Wednesday, 133,101 people arriving from coronavirus-affected countries had been tested.
Coronavirus pandemic
In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in more than 140 countries, including Russia.
On March 11, the WHO declared the outbreak a global pandemic. Over 210,000 people have been infected around the world and about 8,500 have died. Russia has identified 147 cases so far. The Russian government has launched an Internet hotline to keep the country’s people informed about the coronavirus situation.