Russia facing surge in coronavirus cases

A new surge in coronavirus cases took Russia’s tally past those in Italy and Britain yesterday, making it the third highest in the world.

The number of new coronavirus cases rose by a record daily amount to 11,656 in the previous 24 hours, making the official tally 221,344. Only Spain and the United States have recorded more cases.

More than half of all cases and deaths are in Moscow, the epicenter of Russia’s outbreak. The Russian capital yesterday reported an overnight increase of 6,169 new cases, bringing its official total to 115,909.

The country’s coronavirus response center also reported 94 new deaths, taking the overall death toll to 2,009.

Official data published on Sunday showed Moscow reported 18 percent more deaths in April this year than the same month in 2019, raising the possibility that the official death toll from COVID-19 seriously understates the spread of the coronavirus.

Government officials attribute the lower death toll and the rising and large number of cases to a vast testing program, under which they say 5.6 million tests have been conducted and has allowed doctors to quickly identify people who need medical care and make sure they receive it in a timely fashion.

At the end of last month, Putin extended coronavirus lockdown measures until May 11 and ordered his government to begin preparations for a gradual lifting of the curbs from mid-May.

Putin told Russians at the time that the worst days of the outbreak were still ahead.

Two days later, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced he had the virus and needed to temporarily step aside.

Putin has ordered the government to come up with a plan to get the economy moving again by June 1.

Moscow and other regions are in their seventh week of lockdown. Moscow’s residents have been told to stay at home except in certain circumstances, such as going out to buy food and medicine.