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Kremlin: Authorities taking all necessary steps to prevent coronavirus spread in Russia

The overall number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in China has hit over 75,000

ST.PETERSBURG, February 19. /TASS/. Russia’s authorities have been taking all necessary steps to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in Russia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

"All necessary steps are being taken in order to prevent coronavirus penetration and spread in our country," Peskov said.

Since February 20, Russia will temporarily suspend the entry of Chinese nationals, who are heading to the country for work, private, education or tourism purposes. The authorities will also temporarily suspend accepting documents and issuing invitations to enter Russia for work purposes.

Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in Wuhan, a densely populated city in central China, in late December 2019. The WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global health emergency and named the virus COVID-19. Coronavirus cases have also been reported in 25 other countries, including Russia.

According to the latest data, the overall number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in China has hit over 75,000 and the death toll has exceeded 2,000. Nearly 15,000 patients have recovered to date.