Russia reports new record daily rise in coronavirus cases
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Medical workers taking an elderly woman from a bus stop to a hospital in Moscow, on April 17, 2020.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
MOSCOW (BLOOMBERG) - Russia recorded its largest daily increase in coronavirus infections, with the new cases rising by almost 5,000 in a single day.
New infections jumped by 4,785 to 36,793, the official Russian coronavirus information centre reported on its website. Forty people died in the past day, including 21 in Moscow, bringing the number of fatalities to 313. The pace of new cases increased 17.6 per cent after slowing to less than 15 per cent in the previous two days.
Officials in Moscow have tightened restrictions on moving around the capital, introducing a new system of digital travel passes on Wednesday (April 15) to try to curb the spread of the virus.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered most Russians to stay at home until April 30, warning this week that the epidemic has yet to reach its peak in the country.
On Thursday, he postponed all planned public celebrations of the May 9 World War II victory, including the Red Square military parade.
