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		</div><p>A US-Russian space crew have blasted off to the International Space Station following a tight quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>Nasa astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner lifted off as scheduled from the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.</p>
<p>Russian space officials have taken extra precautions to protect the crew during training and pre-flight preparations as the coronavirus outbreak has swept the world.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">3-2-1&#8230; LIFTOFF! ð Shooting into the sky at 4:05am ET, the Soyuz rocket carrying Chris Cassidy of <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA_Astronauts</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/roscosmos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Roscosmos</a> cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner left Earth for a six-hour journey to the <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Space_Station</a>. Watch: <a href="https://t.co/NkA30hHnBS">https://t.co/NkA30hHnBS</a> <a href="https://t.co/yLhN2DWmvH">pic.twitter.com/yLhN2DWmvH</a></p>
<p>&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1248161215790157827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Speaking to journalists on Wednesday in a videolink from Baikonur, Mr Cassidy said the crew had been in <em>“a very strict quarantine”</em> for the past month and are in good health.</p>
<p><em>“We all feel fantastic,”</em> he said.</p>
<p>Commander Ivanishin also noted that extra measures have been taken to keep the crew healthy and safe before launch, adding that none of the crew have had any guests — no family or friends.</p>
<p><em>“We’ve been completely isolated at this final stage of training,”</em> he said.</p>
<p>Roscosmos director Dmitry Rogozin said earlier this week that nine employees of the state corporation had tested positive for coronavirus. Roscosmos, which controls a sprawling network of production plants and launch facilities, has about 200,000 employees, he said.</p>
<p>As part of additional precautions, Roscosmos has barred reporters from covering the launch, contrary to usual practice.</p>
<p>Mr Ivanishin and Mr Vagner had trained as back-ups for two other Russians and were picked for the flight only in February after a member of the original Russian crew suffered an eye injury.</p>
<p>The International Space Station is currently operated by Russian Oleg Skripochka and Nasa astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan, who are due to return to Earth on April 17.</p>
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