Russia bans Chinese citizens over virus concerns: agencies

Russia on Tuesday said it would ban all Chinese citizens from entering its territory from February 20, in a drastic measure against the spread of the new coronavirus, local news agencies said.

"The entry of all Chinese citizens via Russia's state frontiers will be suspended from February 20 for work travel, private travel, study and tourism," said Deputy Prime Minister in charge of health, Tatiana Golikova, according to agencies.

She said the decision was taken "because of the worsening of the epidemic in China and the fact that Chinese nationals are continuing to arrive on Russian territory."