Number of Russians wishing to return home will increase - Russian diplomat

MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. The number of Russian citizens who wish to return home in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic will increase, namely due to the end of the school year in foreign educational facilities, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during Thursday’s briefing. "It is absolutely obvious that the number of people who apply for aid [for repatriation] will increase, for example, after the school year ends. Those who remained abroad receiving an education online will probably wish to return home. At least this is the trend we are witnessing," she stated. Zakharova noted that since the start of the current algorithm on repatriation of Russian citizens, over 26,000 people have returned home. "Besides, according to recent data that we have specified today, foreign air carriers have transported 3,500 Russian nationals. So in total, we are approaching the figure of 30,000 people," the diplomat explained. She added that as of late May, about 25,000 Russians have requested aid in their return home. She explained that the repatriation process depends on the capacity of Russian regions to admit the returning citizens. Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Russia has fully shut down international regular and charter flights. Air carriers can only operate flights to repatriate Russian nationals stranded abroad. In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 6,586,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 388,200 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 3,181,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe. To date, a total of 441,108 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 204,623 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 5,384 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation. Read more