Russia nears 300,000 mark with 9,263 new coronavirus cases

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the number of positive coronavirus cases in Russia is inching towards the 300,000 mark. According to reports, Russian authorities reported 9,263 new coronavirus cases on May 19 taking the total of positive coronavirus cases in Russia to 299,941. The country also reported over 100 new coronavirus related deaths, the death toll is Russia now stands at 2,837.

Russia continues to be in a 'difficult' position

According to reports, Russia has crossed countries such as Spain, Italy and the UK to end up as the nation with the second-highest reported coronavirus cases. It is only second to the United States which has over a million coronavirus cases.

As per reports, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who recently tested coronavirus positive and is being treated, on May 18 said that while the rapid rise of new coronavirus infections had been halted somewhat, the situation in Russia continues to be ‘difficult’. Many critics have cast doubt of Russia’s low official mortality rate and claimed that the authorities have been deliberately underreporting coronavirus deaths.

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According to reports, in reply to the criticism, Russian health officials have claimed that one of the reasons for the low mortality rate in the country is because unlike the US and other western European nations, they only count deaths that were directly caused by the virus. Authorities have also come forward to state that since the virus arrived in Russia later as compared to other countries, they were able to better prepare themselves but allocating large number of beds to COVID-19 patients and by launching a large scale testing drive in order to slow the spread of the virus.

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In addition to the Russian Prime Minister who has tested positive for the coronavirus, the countries education minister, Valery Falkov, has also tested positive. As per reports, recently Putin’s closest aide and spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also contracted the novel coronavirus and has been hospitalized.

(Image Credit AP)