COVID-19: Over 22,000 people in Russia remain under coronavirus observation

Moscow won’t introduce curfew due to COVID-19, task force says

While "a total of 62,541 people have undergone medical observation so far, over 22,000 people in Russia remain under medical observation over the novel coronavirus, the national consumer watchdog said in a statement on Thursday.

As many as 22,178 people remain under monitoring as of March 18," the statement reads. The watchdog added that as of Wednesday, 133,101 people arriving from coronavirus-affected countries had been tested.

Meanwhile, Moscow’s coronavirus task force on Thursday, disproved media reports that
Moscow officials planned to introduce a curfew in the city to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

"The task force on controlling and monitoring the coronavirus situation in Moscow informs that the reports claiming that Moscow will introduce a curfew are false. We ask you to only trust official sources of information," the task force stated.

Earlier, a copy of the document allegedly signed by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared on social networks, which claimed that a curfew would be introduced in Moscow starting March 30.

The Russian Defense Ministry dismissed the reports as false in a statement on Wednesday, claiming that this fake report may have been created by "representatives of one of the neighboring states."

While over 210,000 people have been infected around the world in over 140 countries and territories and about 8,500 have died, Russia has identified 147 confirmed cases so far and the government has launched an Internet hotline to keep the country’s people informed about the COVID-19 situation.

On March 11, the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.