Russia now number 6 in coronavirus cases worldwide

MOSCOW

With 10,633 new coronavirus cases, Russia surpassed France on Sunday to become the country with the sixth-highest number of COVID-19 infections.

The number of new infections climbed for the fifth day in a row, with a total to date of 134,687, the country’s emergency team said in a statement.

Fifty-eight people died over the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,280, while 1,626 people recovered, it said.

More than 4.1 million tests have been carried out in the country so far in an effort to find COVID-19 infections at an early stage.

Three top Russian officials were hospitalized this week with the virus, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

On May 2, a group of scientists from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) published a math-based model under which 99% of cases in Russia will be detected by June 3 and the epidemic should trail off by mid-August.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 185 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed some 244,000 worldwide, with total infections over 3.42 million, while more than 1.1 million people have recovered, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.