Virus-wary Russia bars entry to Chinese travelers

BEIJING — Russia will temporarily ban Chinese citizens from entering the country in response to the virus outbreak centered in China that has infected more than 73,000 people worldwide, Russian authorities said Tuesday.

In China, Wuhan’s health bureau announced Tuesday that doctor Liu Zhiming became infected and died despite “all-out” attempts to save him. Liu had mobilized all the resources of his hospital in the city’s Wuchang district to deal with the thousands of sick people arriving daily.

Liu is at least the seventh health worker to die of the covid-19 disease among the more than 1,700 doctors and nurses who have become sick. His death comes as authorities are cautiously cheering a reduction in the number of new daily cases and deaths, along with the results of a study showing most people who contracted the virus experienced only mild symptoms.

Russia’s entry ban goes into effect Thursday at midnight Moscow time for an indefinite period, according to a decree signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The government said it took the move as a result of the “worsening epidemiological situation” in China.

Russia already had cut off most Chinese visitors by closing the long land border with China and Mongolia and imposing other travel restrictions. The new entry ban won’t affect travelers who need to transfer flights at Russian airports, authorities said.

So far, Russia has had only three confirmed cases of covid-19 disease caused by the virus — two Chinese citizens who were treated and released, and a Russian national infected on the Diamond Princess cruise ship now quarantined in Japan.

However, Russian authorities have taken significant steps to try to keep the virus from spreading, including hospitalizing hundreds of people as a precaution after they returned from China.

Russia halted most air traffic to China, suspended all trains to China and North Korea, and temporarily stopped issuing work visas to Chinese citizens. Chinese students studying in Russia were told not to return until March 1.

Earlier this month, the prime minister said Russia might start deporting the foreigners infected with the virus.

In the meantime, Germany is sending a second shipment of medical aid supplies to China to help the Asian giant fight the coronavirus epidemic.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the government would send 8.7 tons of aid supplies worth $162,000, including protection gear and disinfectants.

“Germany stands firmly on the side of China in the battle against coronavirus and works closely and trustfully with the Chinese officials,” Maas said. “We have the utmost respect for the efforts China has already undertaken.”

China today reported 1,749 new cases and 136 deaths. That raised the number of deaths in mainland China to 2,004 and the total number of confirmed cases to 74,185.

“Now the prevention and control work is at a critical time,” President Xi Jinping told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a phone call Tuesday, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Japan, meanwhile, announced that 88 more cases of the virus were confirmed aboard the Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 542 among the 3,700 initially on board.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres told The Associated Press that the virus outbreak “is not out of control but it is a very dangerous situation.”

Wuhan and its surrounding cities in Hubei province have accounted for the vast majority of infections and deaths, prompting the government to enforce a travel ban that has spread to other parts of the country and now includes a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine period for anyone traveling outside their home district. Two new prefabricated hospitals have been built to deal with the overflow in Wuhan and thousands of medical staffers have been brought in from other parts of the country to help.

A study by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found more than 80% of the cases studied were mild and the number of new infections seemed to be falling since early this month. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was too early to know if the reported decline would continue, however. “Every scenario is still on the table,” he said at a news conference.

Meanwhile, the U.S. evacuated 328 American passengers, with most of them placed in a 14-day quarantine at military bases in California and Texas. Thirteen who tested positive for the virus were taken to a hospital in Omaha, Neb., and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said any more passengers who show symptoms will be taken to hospitals.