MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Many UK citizens had managed to leave Russia before the air service between both countries was suspended, the UK Embassy in Moscow told TASS on Wednesday.
The embassy informed that UK diplomatic missions usually do not register citizens arriving in foreign states. "On the whole, not many people expressed such a wish [to leave Russia]. Many left earlier, taking into account that the embassy recommended to do that starting March 21," the source said.
"The UK Embassy continues to provide consular aid to UK citizens who were unable to return home for certain reasons. We maintain constant contact with the British community in Russia, Russian official bodies and air carriers," the embassy added.
Starting March 27, Russia has suspended all international flights to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, excluding flights transporting Russian citizens home, cargo flights and postal service flights.
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 1,400,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 82,000 deaths have been reported. That said, over 300,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.
To date, a total of 8,672 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 580 patients having recovered from the virus. Moscow accounts for the majority of cases (5,841). The country’s latest data indicates 63 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.