MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. All foreigners diagnosed with novel coronavirus in Russia will undergo mandatory treatment until they are fully cured, after which they can decide whether to stay in Russia or leave, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova’s press service informed TASS on Monday.

"All foreigners located in Russia and diagnosed with a new type of coronavirus will undergo treatment until they are fully cured. After that, they will decide whether to stay on the territory of our country or not," the press service noted.

Earlier, Golikova informed that two Chinese citizens had been diagnosed with coronavirus in Russia. They are both hospitalized, their condition is stable. When they are cured, the patients can decide whether to return to China or remain in Russia.

According to the Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare, over 4,000 people in Russia are currently monitored on suspicion of coronavirus. The watchdog’s head Anna Popova told reporters that Russian officials have the right to demand compulsory hospitalization if a patient exhibits symptoms of a new type of coronavirus to "aid the prevention of the disease and combat its spread on the territory of the country."

On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the city of Wuhan - a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 11 million people. The city has since been closed off for entry and exit. Foreign states are evacuating their citizens from Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province.

The number of people infected with 2019-nCoV in China has exceeded 17,000, with 361 recorded deaths. On Sunday, the Philippines recorded the first death from novel coronavirus outside of China.

Cases of coronavirus have been detected in 23 countries outside of China, including Russia. On January 30, WHO declared an international public health emergency over the outbreak of 2019-nCoV.