CHITA, January 31. /TASS/. One of the Chinese nationals infected with coronavirus has been taken to hospital on crossing the Russian border, his condition is stable, the government of Russia’s Trans-Baikal Region informed.

Earlier, Russian Deputy PM Tatyana Golikova confirmed the first two cases of coronavirus in Russia: one in the Trans-Baikal Region and one in the Tyumen Region. Both patients are Chinese citizens.

"This Chinese citizen has been hospitalized immediately on crossing the border between Russia and China. Taking into account the current unfavorable epidemiologic situation in China and his prolonged presence in Inner Mongolia (China) and other Chinese provinces where cases of coronavirus were detected, experts of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare for the Trans-Baikal Region have carried out medical tests, and the man was placed in a special sealed-off ward. Currently, his condition is stable," the message by the government’s press service informs.

The press service added that the Chinese national had tested positive for coronavirus. "The patient has been prescribed the corresponding treatment. The patient will remain in a boxed-off ward in accordance with all sanitary and epidemiologic norms," the message notes.

The government added that local authorities had been placed on high alert, with a special task force set up. All border crossings with China in the Trans-Baikal Region and in all of Russia’s Far East have been closed. Railway service between China and Russia, except trains between Moscow and Beijing, has been suspended. The local health ministry department has set up a hotline to inform citizens of prophylactic measures against various diseases, including the coronavirus.

On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan - a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 11 million people. On January 7, Chinese experts identified the infecting agent: coronavirus 2019-nCoV. According to recent data, over 9,800 people have been infected with the virus in China, with 213 dead.

On January 30, the WHO declared an international public health emergency over the outbreak of 2019-nCoV in China. Cases of coronavirus have been detected in numerous states outside of China: Australia, Vietnam, India, Italy, Cambodia, Canada, Malaysia, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, the USA, Thailand, the Philippines, Finland, France, Germany, Sri Lanka and Japan.