MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. The number of the novel coronavirus cases in Russia has grown from 114 to 147, and 31 of the new cases are in Moscow, the city’s anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Wednesday.

"Over the past day, 33 new coronavirus cases have been registered in Russia among Russian citizens, and 31 of the new cases are in Moscow, one in the Tomsk Region and one in the Novosibirsk Region," the response center said, noting that all cases have been brought from overseas.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said there were no reasons to panic because of the spread of the novel coronavirus in Russia. All measures taken by the Russian government are preventive, she stressed. Golikova added that, due to the fact that Russia took prohibitive measures earlier than other countries, that is, in January, the infection was spreading to a limited extent. According to preliminary data for 2020, there has been no increase in the number of pneumonia cases and pneumonia-related deaths. In a number of regions, there is a decrease in these numbers compared to the same period last year.

The outbreak of a disease caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was registered in central China in late December 2019. The World Health Organization recognized the situation with the novel coronavirus as a pandemic on March 11. Outside China, the worst affected countries are Italy, South Korea and Iran. Overall, more than 130 countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases. According to the latest data, the novel coronavirus cases globally have exceeded 190,000, with nearly 8,000 deaths.