MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2020) There are no plans to postpone the next meeting of the High Russian-Italian Interparliamentary Commission over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the European country, Russian Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Konstantin Kosachev told Sputnik on Wednesday.
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the Italian La Stampa daily that the next meeting of the commission would take place in Moscow in March.
"We will not [postpone the interparliamentary commission]. It will take place," Kosachev said, answering the relevant question.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy has risen dramatically in recent days. On Saturday, health officials reported 79 cases in the European country. That number has since risen to over 350, and 12 people have died in Italy after contracting the disease.
Originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December, COVID-19 has since infected over 81,200 people worldwide, resulting in the deaths of over 2,750 people. Over a third of individuals who contracted the disease have been cured, although the outbreak is gaining pace in Europe, as several European countries, including Austria, Switzerland, and Croatia, have reported their first confirmed cases in recent days.
