Russia said on Saturday its death toll from the novel coronavirus had risen to 313, an overnight increase of 40, as it posted a new record daily jump in new cases.
The authorities reported 4,785 new cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 36,793.
Moscow, which became the epicentre of Russia’s coronavirus outbreak and was also the first region in the country to introduce a lockdown, recorded 2,649 new cases, and 21 new deaths, the Russian coronavirus crisis response centre said.
Coronavirus infections in Russia began rising sharply this month, although it had reported far fewer infections than many western European countries in the outbreak’s early stages.
Like in many countries, health authorities in Russia are not carrying out mass testing. Private testing results in Moscow among people without symptoms suggest the virus has penetrated more deeply into its population than official data shows.