Russia surpasses China’s official number of coronavirus cases after registering 6,200 new infections, bringing total to 87,147
- Russia reported total of 87,147 cases on Monday, higher than China’s official toll
- Actual number of infections in both countries is thought to be much higher
- Russia had been reporting comparatively low Covid-19 numbers until April
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Russia has surpassed China‘s official number of coronavirus cases after registering nearly 6,200 new cases in 24 hours to become the ninth hardest-hit country.
The Russian government reported a total of 87,147 cases on Monday, which is almost 4,000 more than China’s official toll of 83,912.
The actual number of infections in both countries is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
Many also believe that governments in both Russia and China could be manipulating the statistics for political purposes.
The Russian government reported a total of 87,147 cases on Monday, which is almost 4,000 more than China’s official toll of 83,912
The country also recorded 50 new deaths from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 794, according to the state-owned TASS news agency
A medical specialist walks out of a mobile laboratory, where tests are carried out to detect coronavirus, near the Moscow International Business Centre, in Moscow on Monday
The country also recorded 50 new deaths from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 794, according to the state-owned TASS news agency.
Russia had been reporting comparatively low numbers of coronavirus cases until April, and the Kremlin insisted the situation was under control.
In mid-April, Russians were supposed to vote for a constitutional reform that would allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036, and Kremlin critics argued the government was downplaying the crisis ahead of the vote.
In late March, Putin postponed the vote indefinitely. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has been growing exponentially since then.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Minister of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief Yevgeny Zinichev are seen during a video conference meeting. The Russian government reported a total of 87,147 cases on Monday, which is almost 4,000 more than China’s official toll of 83,912
The new figures come after it emerged Russia is preparing for an influx in new Covid-19 cases with regions told to urgently boost available hospital beds and draft in medical students.
Infections outside Moscow and its surrounding region soared 110 per cent last week.
And the authorities are scrambling deal with a 31-fold increase in a fortnight at a construction site manned by 11,000 workers – including many migrants – above the Arctic Circle.
In the capital city, new temporary hospitals are now planned to handle 5,000 patients on top of existing provisions with Vladimir Putin’s government admitting that doctors here are ‘under stress’.
A quick-build module for 1,500 patients is being attached to overflowing Kommunarka infections diseases hospital, it was announced.
Medical students in their fourth and fifth years face being called up, reported Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.