Coronavirus: Mongolian President Battulga quarantined after returning from China

Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga, along with other government officials, has been kept under a 14-day quarantine after returning from a visit to China, the State news agency reported. Battulga is the first Head of State to visit China following the special curbs implemented by Beijing to contain the deadly coronavirus which has claimed more than 2,800 lives worldwide.

The 56-year-old Mongolian leader held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during his State visit. Battulga was accompanied by Foreign Minister Tsogtbaatar Damdin and other senior government officials. The whole delegation was taken into quarantine following their return as a precautionary measure.

Mongolia has stepped up its measure to combat and contain the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and Mongolia’s National Emergency Commission recently decided to halt all the flights from South Korea. The landlocked country between Russian and China has also blocked entry through its borders until March 2 in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Mongolia.

Seals border with China

Ulaanbaatar has started taking drastic measures as the novel coronavirus pushed beyond Asia and Europe and the Middle East started reporting more cases of the deadly virus. Earlier, Mongolia had blocked all entries through its border with China which also led to the suspension of coal deliveries into the coronavirus-hit nation.

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According to the latest report, 44 new deaths in China due to coronavirus infections have been confirmed, taking the total death toll because of the deadly virus to nearly 2,800. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, other countries, including Iran, Italy, Japan and the Philippines, have also now reported deaths related to COVID-19.

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New Zealand became the latest country to report its first case of the novel coronavirus which was detected in a person who recently returned from Iran, the country which has reported the most number of deaths due to the deadly virus outside China. New Zealand has announced temporary travel restrictions on travellers arriving from Iran and anyone who has been in Iran in the last 14 days will need to self-isolate.

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(With inputs from agencies)