Russia is closing its 2,600-mile border with China amid fears about the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak

• Russia is closing much of its land border with China amid growing fears around the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
• Officials announced Thursday that 16 of 25 crossing points along the 2,600-mile border will close by midnight on Friday, local time.
• Russian officials have not confirmed any coronavirus cases in the country, but it has spread to 19 other countries, infecting nearly 8,000 people around the world.
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Russian officials have ordered closed more than half of the crossing points along its 2,600-mile border with China, citing concerns about the Wuhan coronavirus that has so far sickened nearly 8,000 people around the world and killed 170 within China.

"We have to do everything to protect our people," Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a televised cabinet meeting on Thursday, The New York Times reported.

The crossing points will shut down as of midnight on Friday, local time, according to the newspaper.

Officials have not confirmed any coronavirus cases in Russia, but its government has been on edge nevertheless. On Thursday, the foreign ministry issued a statement strongly advising its citizens not to travel to China unless "absolutely necessary."

The government also temporarily suspended electronic visas for Chinese citizens, according to the statement.

The spread of the virus has sparked panic around the world, with patients in every province and territory in China, and in at least 19 other countries.

Cases have been reported so far in Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Vietnam.

The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated, is on lockdown to contain the virus, and residents are entering their eighth day of quarantine.

The World Health Organization was also set to meet on Thursday to discuss whether to declare an international public health emergency over the virus.

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