MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. People, who receive parcels and letters from China, are not at risk of contracting coronavirus 2019-nCoV that causes pneumonia, the World Health Organization wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

"Yes, it is safe. People receiving packages from China are not at risk of contracting 2019nCoV. From previous analysis, we know coronaviruses do not survive long on objects, such as letters or packages," the WHO tweeted.

On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan and later identified the infecting agent as coronavirus 2019-nCoV. Apart from China, 23 other countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases. The WHO declared the new coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Up to now, China has confirmed over 11,700 cases of patients infected with the novel coronavirus, while the death toll from the virus has hit 259.