MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Russia’s decision to suspend entry of Chinese citizens to its territory is not political, but was made solely for safety reasons to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during Thursday’s briefing.
"I would like to note that all actions taken by Russia to avoid the spread of this epidemic, including international efforts, are not politicized, they are not made with a view to any political gain. This is solely an issue of safety, medicine and expert evaluations of the situation and the steps need to be taken. The experts form part of the corresponding task force under the auspices of the government," she said, commenting on Russia’s temporary entry ban for Chinese citizens due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
She noted that Russian experts are monitoring the situation daily "with regard to healthcare and safety, not guided by any political agenda."
The diplomat recalled that Russia expresses full support to the states affected by the coronavirus outbreak, namely China, which "has taken unprecedented measures to fight the epidemic."
Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order temporarily banning entry of Chinese citizens to Russia starting February 20. The decision was made in order to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
On December 31, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan — a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 12 million people. The source of the outbreak is the COVID-19 coronavirus. Cases of coronavirus have been documented in at least 25 countries, including Russia. WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak in China a global health emergency.
Currently, the total number of people infected with coronavirus exceeds 74,500 in China with over 2,100 reported deaths. Meanwhile, over 16,100 people are said to have recovered from it.