No Traces of Coronavirus Found in 2 Hospitalized in St. Petersburg So Far -Health Ministry

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2020) Two passengers who were hospitalized in St. Petersburg on Wednesday on suspicion of coronavirus infection are in stable condition, the preliminary diagnosis has not been confirmed so far, the Russian Health Ministry said.

"Patients from St. Petersburg who are suspected of having a coronavirus infection are kept in specialized medical facilities of the city. The patients' condition is assessed by doctors as stable, they receive all the necessary medical care. We note that at so far none of these patients have been diagnosed with coronavirus infection," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also said that it is in the final stages of the development of special tests that would allow the detection of new coronavirus within 30 minutes.

The mysterious type of pneumonia broke out in Wuhan in late December and has since been confirmed by China and the World Health Organization to be a contagious new strain of coronavirus, called 2019-nCoV. At least nine people have died and more than 400 have been infected so far.

The virus has also been registered in the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Japan.