Moscow, March 17: Amid coronavirus outbreak across the globe, Russia to seal its borders for foreigners and stateless people. The restriction on the entry of foreign citizens and stateless people will start from March 18 midnight till May 1, 2020. Russian Embassy in a statement said, “All Russian diplomatic and consular missions abroad temporarily suspend accepting any visa applications except for diplomatic, official and regular business visa applications from foreign nationals and stateless persons.” Coronavirus Live Map: How to Track The Spread of COVID-19 Across The Globe With This Dashboard.

In Russia, a total number of confirmed cases for COVID-19 rose close to 93 after 30 cases were reported on March 16. Reports also surfaced that Russia has started to test vaccine prototypes for the deadly virus. The country is expected to present the plan for the medicine by June this year. Besides Russia, the other European countries which closed its borders to prevent the spread of COVID-19, include – Spain, Germany and Italy. Coronavirus Outbreak: Spanish Government Orders People to Stay at Home, Madrid Police Use Drones to Broadcast Audio Messages (Watch Video).

Due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus, last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a “pandemic”. Till now, over 7,000 people have lost their lives due to the deadly virus. Most of the deads were reported in China, as around 4,000 people lost their lives there. Meanwhile, Italy is the worst-hit country in Europe. In Italy, over 2,000 deaths have been reported till now.

In India, the effect of the virus is minimal. Considering the population of the country, until now only 139 cases have been registered, while three deaths have been reported. Maharashtra is the worst-affected country with 41 cases, and one death also has been reported in the state’s capital Mumbai.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 17, 2020 09:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).