MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/: A citywide quarantine in Moscow due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation is not currently under discussion, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
"This is not currently under discussion whatsoever," he said in response to a question on whether Moscow may be fully closed off to combat the spread of the virus.
Earlier, Moscow officials also refuted reports of a planned citywide quarantine.
In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. On March 11, WHO officially characterized the situation with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic. The disease has spread to over 180 countries. According to latest reports, over 240,000 people have been infected with the virus globally, and about 10,000 have died. According to the federal coronavirus task force, 199 cases of the novel coronavirus have been documented in Russia. The majority of patients are experiencing mild symptoms of the disease.
