Russia's coronavirus cases surpass 100,000 following record daily rise

Russia has recorded its highest daily increase in Covid-19 infections, with more than 7,000 new cases emerging on Thursday. The nationwide tally of coronavirus patients now stands at over 106,000.

In the past 24 hours, 7,099 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the government’s emergency response team revealed. Over half of these cases were located in Moscow and the surrounding region, while Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, appears third in the grim ranking.

The updates came after Dmitry Peskov, Russia’s presidential spokesman, suggested the country will reach a coronavirus plateau if the number of daily infections drops. Thursday's figure, however, raises the curve after 5,841 cases were recorded on Wednesday all around the country.

Peskov said that hospitals have increased the number of available beds while the government has encouraged people to abide by the strict self-isolation regime, by which everyone with non-essential jobs must remain indoors.

Various Russian regions have kept all businesses shut until further notice, except for grocery stores, pharmacies and a few others. People’s mobility was also limited except for urgent purposes, most notably in Moscow, where movement is controlled through an electronic pass system.

Russia will remain under partial lockdown until May 11, with top officials believing that this week will show whether the crisis is subsiding.

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