Coronavirus: Russia to suspend all international flights from midnight

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In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Russian on Wednesday announced to suspend all international flights starting from March 27. The government has ordered the civil aviation authority to suspend all regular and charter flights to and from Russia from Friday. An exception will be made for flights bringing Russians home from abroad, according to a statement published Thursday on the cabinet’s website.

Earlier this month, Russian authorities limited its air traffic to regular flights to world capitals and charter flights.

The new measure comes as the number of coronavirus cases in Russia rapidly grows. On Wednesday, the government reported a total of 658 cases, with 163 new cases registered since the previous day. That is a significantly bigger daily increase than in previous weeks, when the number of cases was growing by several dozens a day.

(With inputs from AP)

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