MOSCOW (Reuters) – Moscow’s mayor has asked China to respect the measures the city is taking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after China’s embassy complained about disproportionate and discriminatory action against Chinese nationals.
The embassy this week deplored what it described as the “ubiquitous monitoring” of Chinese nationals on Moscow’s public transport network in a formal complaint sent to local authorities and leaked to Russian media.
But Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin defended the measures on Thursday and urged the Chinese embassy to encourage its citizens in Moscow to comply with the quarantine measures.
“I ask that you relate with understanding to these necessary measures, which are aimed at preventing coronavirus infections from spreading,” Sobyanin wrote in a response to the embassy, the Interfax news agency reported.
Hundreds of people have been quarantined across Russia, which has barred many categories of Chinese nationals from entering the country.
Authorities in Moscow have carried out raids on potential carriers of the virus and used facial recognition technology to enforce quarantine measures.
Russia has also barred many categories of Chinese nationals from entering the country.
Three Russian nationals are receiving treatment in Russia after they contracted the virus on a cruise ship in Japan, the authorities have said.
Two Chinese nationals were also hospitalised in Russia with the virus, but they have since recovered and been discharged.
