BEIJING, January 28. /TASS/. Chinese authorities have not made a decision that foreign citizens should leave central China’s Hubei province, which has been hit by a novel coronavirus outbreak, the Russian Embassy in China said on its official website.

"According to our information, by now no decision has been made on the scheme of evacuating foreign citizens from the region," the statement reads.

"Local authorities express readiness to ensure maximum support for foreigners who are currently staying in the province. Now the Chinese side believes that it is more advantageous to keep the current regime of stay," it says.

According to the Russian diplomatic mission, China plans to ensure stable supply of food, essentials and other goods for citizens in Hubei. "It is highly recommended that foreign nationals remain at their places of residence and fully comply with necessary measures on preventing the disease."

The outbreak of pneumonia caused by novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV was recorded in late December in a major Chinese city Wuhan. According to the latest data, a total of 106 Chinese citizens have died of novel coronavirus and 4,515 others have been infected, Xinhua reported citing the Chinese authorities.

The new strain of coronavirus has already been identified in almost all Chinese provinces including Beijing and Shanghai as well as in other countries such as Australia, Malaysia, Nepal, France, Thailand, Vietnam, Germany, South Korea, Singapore, the United States and Japan. The World Health Organization recognized the pneumonia outbreak in China as a national emergency but stopped short of declaring it an international one.