Over 36,000 people remain under medical supervision in Russia due to COVID-19

Over 36,000 people remain under medical supervision in Russia due to the situation with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the press service of the Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare informed on Saturday, TASS reports.

"So far in 2020, 82,439 people were under medical supervision in Russia. As of March 20, 2020, there are 36,540 people remaining under supervision," the message informs.

The federal service established medical supervision for all citizens returning from foreign countries. People are told to self-isolate and report any symptoms of an acute viral respiratory disease.

The federal watchdog also notes that since December 31, about 4.7 mln people have been checked at Russian borders to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus. "The Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare has introduced double control measures for people arriving from unfavorable regions with the use of stationary and portable thermal imaging equipment. Since December 31, 2019 and as of March 20, 2020, 4 million 679 thousand people have been checked, including 398,071 people arriving from China," the message notes.

A pneumonia outbreak caused by the COVID-19 virus (previously known as 2019-nCoV) was reported in China’s city of Wuhan, a large trade and industrial center with a population of 12 million, in late December 2019. Cases of the new coronavirus have also been reported in more than 150 countries and territories, including Russia, which by now has over 250 cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the novel coronavirus cases across the globe have exceeded 240,000, with more than 10,000 deaths. WHO has officially described the situation with the novel coronavirus as a pandemic.