Prime Minister of Russian Federation : Briefing with Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova and Head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare Anna Popova following the meeting of the emergency response centre to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in Russia

Tatyana Golikova: The meeting of the emergency response centre is over. Before speaking about the additional measures we have taken, I would like to inform you that the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) have confirmed two cases of the new coronavirus, in the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Tyumen Region. They have been isolated and are being provided with all the necessary medical assistance that they may require. Both patients are citizens of China.

Now regarding the measures being taken by the emergency response centre. First, I would like to say that since midnight we have closed both pedestrian and vehicle border checkpoints. Today, based on the information provided by our colleagues from the border control and the Federal Customs Service, we have made an additional decision that citizens willing to cross the Russian border through these checkpoints, Chinese citizens with residence permits as well as citizens of the Republic of Belarus who want to cross the Russian border there will be allowed through but then placed under quarantine. Yesterday we established full cooperation with the governors regarding the organisation of quarantine facilities.

In addition to this, based on the information provided by our border service, we will limit the crossing of Chinese nationals from Mongolia into Russia.

Having analysed the information from the Foreign Ministry, we have decided today to start the evacuation of Russian citizens from Wuhan and the Hubei Province. We will know exactly how many Russian citizens are residing there by the end of the day. According to tentative data, there are 300 Russians in Wuhan and 341 in Hubei. The Foreign Ministry will check up on this data today and contact our citizens there, since the ministry has the necessary channels for this, to ask them if they want to come back to Russia. Having assessed the number of those who are choosing to come back, we will appoint the planes that will fly to Wuhan to bring our citizens back to Russia, where they will be kept in quarantine for 14 days.

Everyone will be informed about quarantine requirements, and they will have an opportunity to decide whether they want to stay in China or fly to Russia. Specialists from Rospotrebnadzor will accompany all the flights in order to keep the situation under control.

Now as regards organised tours. According to the Federal Agency for Tourism, there are 2,665 Russians staying in Hainan province right now. All of them must be sent back to Russia by 4 February. They will fly back on charter flights and they won't be quarantined. Only those with the symptoms or a high temperature will be quarantined.

In addition to these measures, we will draft a Government Resolution on a temporary ban on working visas for Chinese citizens.

Regarding air travel, the emergency response centre has reached decision. To date there are 37 scheduled Chinese flights and 154 Russian flights. We will suspend all flights except Aeroflot, which will fly to four Chinese cities regularly: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Per agreement with China, four Chinese airlines' flights to Moscow will remain in operation. They will land at Sheremetyevo Terminal F, where the procedure will be organised by the aviation authorities and Rospotrebnadzor specialists who will receive passengers and decide on how to proceed, whether they will be sent to medical institutions if necessary or sent home.

Now regarding flights to other Russian cities. As I said, we are suspending them but will request the Chinese side (the Russian Foreign Ministry has been instructed accordingly) to continue the former regular flights - the scheduled times of the former regular flights as charter flights - so we can have the opportunity to fly Russians from China if they want. Let me stress: if they want to. At the same time, we will suggest that China can use these flights to return Chinese people home when they fly to China from other cities, apart from Moscow, if necessary. We will receive an update from China on this issue in the next several days. This flight schedule plan will be introduced at midnight on 1 February.

We are also working with China on whether Rospotrebnadzor and Health Ministry specialists can be sent to China to provide any assistance to the Chinese.

The emergency response centre has decided, and will inform the Prime Minister once he returns from his business trip, that it is necessary to provide humanitarian assistance to the People's Republic of China. Protective masks are the quickest thing we can provide. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is working to estimate the volume of the possible immediate supply of this item. The Emergency Ministry is prepared to fly to any city the Chinese authorities name within six hours.

We know that pharmacies are now buying up personal protective items and that some pharmaceutical chains are overpricing preventive medications. This is why we are asking the pharmaceutical chains and producers to not abuse the current situation. We are informing them that the emergency response centre has instructed the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Federal Service for Supervision of Healthcare to cut short attempts at overpricing and unfair business practices.

More to be soon...