MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. The risk of the spread of the novel coronavirus infection in Russia is growing, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Anna Popova told reporters on Wednesday.
"Today, 39 countries have recorded novel coronavirus infection cases. That’s why it is obvious that the possibility of the infection being imported into Russia is certainly growing," she said.
According to Popova, Russia was one of the first countries to tighten quarantine control regulations. "Over 3 million people have been examined during that period, 373,000 of them from China, that is, we have tightened control on all international routes," she said.
Popova noted that 31,000 people had been placed under medical surveillance, adding that 8,165 individuals remained under medical supervision today. More than 150,000 coronavirus tests have been conducted, she said.
"Let me note that we work very closely with the World Health Organization, with our Chinese counterparts. A working visit to China has been held where we could see how our colleagues work," Popova went on to say. She noted that the Russian test system presented in China had "shown excellent results."
The outbreak of the now-infamous novel coronavirus pneumonia was recorded in Wuhan, an economic and industrial metropolis, in late December 2019. The World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern, describing it as an epidemic with multiple locations. Apart from China, 39 other countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases.
According to the authorities, the number of people infected with the new coronavirus in China has passed 78,000. Of these 2,715 were fatalities, while more than 29,700 patients have recovered.