MOSCOW, March 17./TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry has set up a task force to coordinate repatriation of Russian nationals who want to return home amid travel restrictions imposed over the novel coronavirus, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired an emergency meeting looking into ways to ensure the interests of the Russian nationals who have found themselves in a difficult situation amid restrictive measures taken by other states amid a coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting "emphasized the need for the Russian diplomatic missions to take exhaustive measures to help the Russian nationals willing to return home settle logistic matters," the ministry said. It informed that the task force will be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov. The coronavirus crisis center is the head department.

With this in view, the ministry asks all those who have found themselves in a plight to immediately contact the nearest Russian diplomatic mission, as well as give one's whereabouts and all the necessary data. The Foreign Ministry is available by phone as well as via WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and VKontakte social media.

It urges Russian nationals staying in countries where the possibility to leave for Russia still remains to avail of it no matter what kinds of transport and transfers it will necessitate.

An outbreak of the new coronavirus-related disease, which occurred in central China at the end of 2019, has spread to about 160 countries. The World Health Organization on March 11 declared it as a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, more than 180,000 have contracted the virus around the world. Almost 7,000 have died. Russia’s special task force has identified 114 coronavirus cases.