MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has not affected the work of the mission of Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation in Beijing, its press service told TASS.

"The state corporation is not planning [to close the mission in China]. The activity [of the mission] continues in a routine mode with due regard for all existing recommendations and measures," the press service said.

Roscosmos specified that its mission in China is carrying out its activities "with taking into account all recommendations and actions from Beijing People’s Government taken as part of general efforts by the People’s Republic of China to prevent the spread of the coronavirus COVID-2019".

On December 31, 2019, Chinese health officials reported a cluster of cases of acute respiratory illness to the World Health Organization in Wuhan, an economic and industrial metropolis with a population of 11 million. The virus - now named COVID-19 (2019-nCoV), otherwise known as the novel coronavirus - was identified on January 7, 2020. Apart from China, over 70 other countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases. South Korea, Iran and Italy are the hardest hit outside China, where most of the coronavirus cases are reported.

According to the WHO’s updated report, 93,090 coronavirus cases have been confirmed globally, including 80,422 in China. Overall, 2,984 people have died in China.