NgaAlla Ilyina, one of the two women who escaped from Saint Petersburg city hospital, was forced to return to nCoV isolation by the court to continue surveillance.

The Saint Petersburg City Court ruled today and demanded an immediate "compulsory hospitalization" process with defendant Alla Ilyina. Security personnel escorted her to an ambulance to transfer to Botkin hospital shortly after the trial.

The 33-year-old woman will remain in the hospital until February 19 and will only be allowed to go home when she has had two negative tests with nCoV. Ilyina's lawyer confirmed that she would appeal, saying the test results were too long and the client "could be quarantined indefinitely".

Ilyina returned from Hainan Island, China by air on February 1, then had a mild fever and sore throat. Doctors diagnosed her with "acute viral disease", not ruled out infection with nCoV. Ilyina was brought into the quarantine on 6 February but fled after a day. The Saint Petersburg city health department warned it could "spread dangerous infectious diseases".

In an Instagram video, Ilyina said that doctors lie when told she could be discharged after a day, complaining about a lack of necessities like shampoos and poor quality meals. "The door has an electromagnetic lock, I open the box and cut the power cord. The door is open, I pack up and go to the elevator. I was lucky," Ilyina said.

The Botkin Hospital director sued Ilyina and another, Anna Rybakova, to force them to return to continue medical follow-up. Apart from Ilyina and Rybakov, the two Russians also escaped from the Botkin Institute but voluntarily returned later.

The outbreak of corona pneumonia (Covid-19), which began in Hubei province, central China since December 2019, has been reported in 27 countries and territories. Worldwide there are 71,330 cases of infection, 1,775 deaths and 10,607 people cured. Five deaths outside of mainland China have been recorded in Japan, Hong Kong, France, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Russia noted that two cases of nCoV infection were Chinese, both recovered from their illnesses and were discharged from the hospital. The country has also taken strong measures to prevent the epidemic, such as closing borders, requiring airlines except Aeroflot to stop flights to and from China.

New Chinese Consul Cui Shaochun was also asked to isolate himself for two weeks after setting foot on his mission in Yekaterinburg city on February 10.