MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. Russia will determine the procedure of deportation of foreign citizens suspected of being infected with coronavirus in the near future, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova informed reporters on Monday.
"We are determining the place [of deportation] currently," she said.
According to the federal law on the procedure of entry and exit to Russia, a foreigner’s presence in the country may be considered undesirable if it creates a real health hazard for Russian citizens. The decision may be overturned if a foreigner refuses treatment in Russia, but chooses to leave the country on his own account. The decision can also be reversed if a foreigner is cured of a dangerous disease.
Those who refuse to leave the country in violation of the law are to be deported.
On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the city of Wuhan - a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 11 million people. The city has since been closed off for entry and exit. Foreign states are evacuating their citizens from Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province.
The number of people infected with 2019-nCoV in China has exceeded 17,000, with 361 recorded deaths. On Sunday, the Philippines recorded the first death from novel coronavirus outside of China.
Cases of coronavirus have been detected in 23 countries outside of China, including Russia. On January 30, WHO declared an international public health emergency over the outbreak of 2019-nCoV.