Tour operators have temporarily suspended the reception of organized groups of tourists from China, said the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT).
According to the vice president of the organization, Yuri Barzykin, the decision was made for reasons of combating the spread of a new type of coronavirus. According to preliminary estimates, the regime will last “until the situation normalizes,” which the PCT expects to see by the end of February.
"The PRC authorities have instructed the regions to ban travel since Monday, but the process has dragged on for some provinces," said Barzykin. His words are quoted by RIA Novosti.
The Association of Russian Tour Operators (ATOR) drew attention to the decision of the Chinese authorities and noted that there was no need to refuse to accept Chinese tourists.
- AFP
- © Hector RETAMAL
“From the very end of last week, organized groups have been banned in China itself. When China introduced restrictions on domestic and outbound tourism, this primarily affected exit groups, ”said Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Russian Tour Operators (ATOR).
They added to the ATOR that the Russians who choose other directions instead of the previously purchased trips to China, prefer Cuba, the UAE and Turkey.
Recall that at the end of December 2019, China announced the spread of a new coronavirus, designated 2019-nCoV. The outbreak began in Wuhan, Hubei Province, after which the virus spread throughout the PRC and several other countries.
The presence of cases is reported in the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal and Malaysia.
It is noteworthy that one of the new cases in Japan did not visit the Chinese city of Wuhan, writes TASS with reference to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. According to the agency, we are talking about a Japanese driver who drove a group of Chinese tourists from Wuhan on a bus.
According to recent data, the total number of patients with a new type of coronavirus reached 4,515 people, of whom 106 died.
The Chinese authorities said that 2019-nCoV is most often transmitted by airborne droplets, but there is a chance of infection through touch. Li Sinwan, a member of the expert group of the PRC state committee on health issues, called for wearing masks and reducing contacts at close range to avoid infection.
“The virus can also be transmitted through touch if you rub your eyes with your hands that hit the virus,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
Sinwan noted that at an early stage, the disease manifests itself in the form of fever, weakness and cough.
“In seriously ill patients, breathing difficulties, up to respiratory failure, may be observed, the condition may worsen if there are other diseases,” he added.
The expert explained that it takes about one week to treat a patient who has become infected with a new virus if the disease is mild. In the case of severe form, it will take two weeks or more.
According to the Russian Embassy in the PRC, more than 150 Russians are at the epicenter of the new virus infection in the Chinese province of Hubei.
“According to the embassy, at 12:00 local time, January 28 (07:00 Moscow time), the number of citizens in the territory of Hubei province with whom we have established contact is 158 people, of which 113 are in Wuhan,” on the website of the diplomatic mission.
In an interview with RT, the head of the MIPT Genomic Engineering Laboratory Pavel Volchkov expressed the opinion that at the initial stage, the Chinese authorities acted rather slowly, and patients should not be referred to a regular clinic. However, according to the expert, later the situation has changed.
“Judging by what is happening in China, I can say that the country is doing very well - they close the borders between the provinces, close the cities where the virus has spread, and it’s hard for people to get through these cordons,” Volchkov said.
In his opinion, if the coronavirus can be isolated in China, other countries will be safe. The expert also warned against the second wave of coronavirus, against which all preventive measures should be taken. In addition, he spoke about the process of work of Russian scientists on the vaccine.
“We are now setting up this process, and depending on the complexity of the situation, we will be able to release a vaccine in three months. If you do not respond to the situation, humanity will face extremely negative consequences. So you need to act. We have everything we need for this, ”Volchkov concluded.
Special measures in Russia
In Russia, infected with a new type of coronavirus is still not detected, Rospotrebnadzor said. According to the agency, over the period of monitoring, more than 100 people found signs of acute respiratory viral infections, but none of them revealed the 2019-nCoV virus.
“13 patients had a respiratory infection (adenoviruses, rhinoviruses, RS viruses, metapneumoviruses), 13 had influenza A, nine had influenza B, three had parainfluenza, two had seasonal coronavirus infection, and six had mixed infection. Patients with a new coronavirus infection (2019-nCoV) have not been registered, ”stated Rosprotrebnadzor.
In a number of Russian regions bordering China, special measures have been introduced to prevent infection with a new type of coronavirus.
The Government of the Amur Region reported that all tour operators in the region have suspended the sale of tickets to China. Several upcoming tours, which were supposed to take place in early February, have been canceled. Tourists will return the money spent.
In addition, residents of Russia are returning from the Chinese city of Heihe bordering Blagoveshchensk. Earlier, regional authorities introduced special measures at the border, so a temporary corridor was organized for citizens of the Russian Federation.
- Russian citizens return to the Amur Region through a temporary transport corridor
- © Government of the Amur Region
According to preliminary data, more than 200 people used it. The site of the regional government says that all who entered passed double thermal imaging control, they did not reveal ghosts of infectious diseases.
In addition, at the checkpoints across the state border in Primorye, increased epidemiological protection measures have been introduced, TASS reports with reference to the regional government.
It is noted that the staff of points, customs officers and doctors are provided with masks and gloves. All people entering from China pass through double thermometric control: people measure the temperature both inside the vehicle and in the general stream while they pass through the premises.
In addition to this, Rostrud called on employers for the epidemiological situation with coronavirus in China when planning business trips.
“It is advisable to take into account the current epidemiological situation in China and the recommendations of the competent authorities to refrain from visiting the PRC until the situation stabilizes,” the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Among other things, measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in a number of areas have been reported in Russian Railways.
“At the stations of the Far Eastern, Transbaikal, East Siberian Railways, as well as border stations of the South Ural and West Siberian Railways, additional anti-epidemiological measures are being carried out,” the organization’s press service said.
It is noted that disinfection with detergents, revision of ventilation systems and regular ventilation are carried out in the station premises.
It follows from the company’s message that doctors are on duty at the stations, and the medical centers are additionally equipped with the necessary anti-epidemic agents.
In addition, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that an operational headquarters has been formed in the capital to monitor the situation of coronavirus.
“We take under special control hotels and other places of mass stay of tourists. If alarm signals appear, operational medical teams will be sent there to conduct a thorough examination, ”Sobyanin said.