Russia breaks 200,000 mark on total Covid-19 cases with over 11,000 newly registered infections

A total of 11,012 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Russia on Sunday afternoon. Officials in Moscow say the surge in the numbers there is due to increased testing.

The country has now seen the daily number of newly-recorded coronavirus infections exceed 10,000 for eight consecutive days. Overall, there are 209,688 patients who have tested positive for the deadly disease.

Almost two thirds of the new cases reported on Sunday were registered in Moscow area, which remains the country’s worst infection hotspot.

Some 88 people have died across Russia over the past 24 hours, bringing the Covid-19 death toll to 1,915.

Moscow officials have explained that the spike in newly-recorded cases is largely down to increased testing, rather than heightened spread of the disease.

Mayor Sergey Sobyanin argued earlier this week that it is “a huge plus” that the authorities have identified so many infections. That said, he admitted that the real situation with coronavirus in Moscow could be much worse than the official numbers suggest. Sobyanin mentioned that there could be some 300,000 cases.

The volume of testing in the capital has recently doubled, reaching one million on Wednesday. More than 5.4 million tests have been carried out nationwide since the start of the outbreak.

President Vladimir Putin had previously directed regional governments to roll out their own plans for relaxing quarantine restrictions and to set their own timetables as to when the gradual easing of measures can happen. However, there is currently no end in sight for Moscow.

Officials have allowed some companies to resume work, but the majority of restrictions are still in place. In addition, starting from May 12, Muscovites will be obliged to wear masks in public places, including on transport.

The self-isolation regime in Europe’s largest city has been extended until the end of this month.

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