State-run operator Russian Railways has canceled its order on termination of cargo service with China from Friday, Vedomosti reported.
“In connection with the clarifications received (order by the Transport Ministry dated January 25, 2020), operational order 89 dated January 30, 2020, is canceled,” according to the new order, signed by Sergey Kolesnikov, first deputy of the Russian Railways Corporate Transport Service Center.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said earlier that from January 31 Russia would suspend railway passenger traffic with China. She was speaking after a meeting on measures to control and prevent the import and spread of new coronavirus infection to Russia. The railway service will be maintained only on route Beijing-Moscow and Moscow-Beijing.
The Chinese authorities registered the pneumonia outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus in late December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, central China.
According to the latest data, nearly 10,000 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus in China, and over 200 of them have died. Besides China, the novel coronavirus has been reported in 18 countries. The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of national concern and sent its experts to China.