MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. Russia’s consumer rights watchdog, the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare, considers it necessary to introduce additional security measures on Russian domestic flights due to the risk of coronavirus infection, the watchdog’s deputy head Vyacheslav Smolensky said on Tuesday.

"There is a need for additional security measures on domestic flights," he said.

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 20,400, with 420 recorded deaths. There have been two cases of death from coronavirus outside mainland China - in Hong Kong and in the Philippines.

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.