Risks of long travel time

Explaining the risks, he said that as many Chinese citizens flew over nine hours from Moscow to Vladivostok, and then took a bus to the border from the airport, the long time they spent in a confined space could be dangerous if anyone had symptoms of the virus.

Also, the long travel time was not in keeping with the epidemic prevention guidelines of the Russian government, Zhang added.

The envoy said that from March 28 to April 30, everyone in Russia, including Russians and foreign citizens, were to stay at home except for special circumstances, such as going to grocery stores and pharmacies for necessities, walking dogs, and going to work.

Separately, the chief of the Russian Medical Biological Agency, Veronika Skvortsova, said that as the daily growth in confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia was only about 20 percent, it was possible to avert a spike in morbidity with a strict quarantine and isolation policy.

As of Wednesday, the number of infections in Russia had risen by 1,175 in the previous 24 hours, reaching 8,672, with 580 recoveries and 63 deaths.

In a related development, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to hand over all non-woven material to companies making medical masks and protection suits.