MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has issued a warning for Russian nationals against visiting Iran, Italy and South Korea amidst the outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemics in these countries.

"Following an outbreak of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the Republic of Korea, Iran and a number of Italian regions and in a bid to prevent its import to Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry recommends Russian nationals to temporary refrain from visiting South Korea, Iran and Italy unless such visits are vitally necessary," the ministry said in a press statement posted on its website on Wednesday.

The ministry asks Russian nationals staying in these countries to refer contact information to the Russian embassies in Teheran, Rome and Seoul and call the ministry’s contact center "to inform about their actual whereabouts" so that they could be timely informed about the coronavirus response measures taken by the Russian government.

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 38 other countries, including Russia. According to the latest update, the number of confirmed cases of the disease has exceeded 78,000, with 2,715 people killed by this coronavirus. More than 29,700 have recovered.