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Russia hopes coronavirus epidemics will be taken under control by Tokyo Olympics

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said earlier the Japanese side will take into account the coronavirus situation in the light of the upcoming Olympic Games

MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Russia hopes the situation around the novel coronavirus spread will be taken under control by the beginning of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, or by late July. There are all the preconditions for that, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said in an interview with TASS.

"Naturally, very serious monitoring of the situation around the coronavirus-induced epidemic is exercised both at the international and national levels, in particular in Russia," he said. "We are keeping a close eye on the statements from the WHO (World Health Organization - TASS), which is authorized to report about developments on that matter. So far, we proceed from the fact that there are preconditions for this epidemic to subside and he hope that its consequences will be neutralized by the beginning of the Olympic Games."

He said that the Russian foreign ministry was guided by the decisions of the International Olympic Committee and was taking efforts to reduce health risks not only for fans but for all Russian nationals. However, in his words, it is up to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to decide about the Olympic Games, which are scheduled to open on July 24.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Thursday the Japanese side will take into account the coronavirus situation in the light of the upcoming Olympic Games. Yoshiro Mori, the chief of the Tokyo games organizing committee, said the issue of possible cancellation or postponement of the Games had not been looked at.

A pneumonia outbreak caused by the COVID-19 virus (previously known as 2019-nCoV) was reported in China’s city of Wuhan, a large trade and industrial center with a population of 12 million, in late December. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak in China a global health emergency, characterizing it as an epidemic with multiple foci.

Cases of the new coronavirus have also been reported from 27 other countries, including Russia. According to the latest update, the number of confirmed cases of the disease has exceeded 76,200, with 2,345 people killed by this coronavirus. More than 20,000 have recovered.

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