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Coronavirus pandemic

Watchdog advises Russians against visiting China amidst outbreak

Russia's consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor also introduced screening for flights arriving from China

© EPA-EFE/YUAN ZHENG

MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. Russia's consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor recommends Russian tourists to abstain from visiting China amidst the outbreak of the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV in the country.

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"Rospotrebnadzor recommends Russian tourists to abstain from visiting China until the epidemiological situation stabilizes," the watchdog said in a statement on Friday.

"Rospotrebnadzor has introduced screening for flights arriving from China. As of 23 January 2020, no cases of suspected coronavirus infection were found," the statement added.

The watchdog also advised Russian tourists going to China to avoid going to zoos or events involving animals, to wear masks, wash hands frequently and consume only cooked food and bottled water.

On January 21, the watchdog recommended Russian citizens to abstain from visiting the city of Wuhan, where the new coronavirus outbreak was first registered.

On December 31, the Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a new type of pneumonia in the city of Wuhan in central China. On January 7, Chinese specialists determined the virus behind the infection - coronavirus 2019-nCoV. Doctors say that the symptoms of the new coronavirus include running nose, cough, sore throat and chest tightness. Migraines and fever are also possible, and they can last for several days. The risk group includes people with a compromised immune system, such as the elderly and children. They present with symptoms similar to those of penumonia and bronchitis.

According to the latest reports, 830 people were infected with the new coronavirus, and 25 people died. Several cases of the new coronavirus were also confirmed in other countries - three in Thailand, two in Vietnam, two in Japan, one each in South Korea, Singapore and the United States.

On Thursday, the WHO announced that "it is still too early" to declare the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

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