Kazakhstan’s health minister thanks Russia for evacuating Kazakh nationals from China

NUR-SULTAN, February 5. /TASS/. Kazakhstan’s Health Minister Yelzhan Birtanov has held a telephone conversation with this Russian counterpart Mikhail Murahsko and expressed gratitude for the evacuation of Kazakh nationals from China, the Kazakh Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. "Yelzhan Birtanov congratulated Mikhail Murashko on his appointment and thanked him for the assistance in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic and the evacuation of our citizens from the city of Wuhan," the statement reads. Earlier on Wednesday, Birtanov held a phone call with Uzbekistan’s Health Minister Alisher Shadmanov, thanking him for evacuating Kazakh nationals from China. "The parties agreed to maintain contact and keep exchanging information through the Kazakh Health Ministry’s response center. The Kazakh Health Ministry, together with the Health Ministries of Russia and Uzbekistat, will monitor those evacuated from Wuhan to Russia’s Tyumen (three Kazakh nationals) and the Uzbek capital of Tashkent (five Kazakh nationals), who are undergoing a 14-day quarantine," the statement added. Coronavirus outbreak On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. On January 7, Chinese experts identified the 2019-nCoV coronavirus as the cause of the disease. According to recent data, over 24,300 cases of patients infected with the virus and 492 deaths have been confirmed in China. Over 900 patients have recovered from the virus. Coronavirus cases have also been reported in 24 other countries, including Russia. The WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global health emergency. Read more