Russia has reported more than 87,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, about 2,500 more than China, where the virus is believed to have originated, state media reported on Monday.
Russia is currently ninth in the world in reported coronavirus cases, with the United States, Spain and Italy constituting the top three.
China is 10th, according to its officially published statistics.
Russia’s reported cases have grown exponentially over the past month, with authorities responding with lockdown quarantine measures imposed throughout most of the country.
Russia expects its coronavirus caseload to plateau in three weeks, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said in an interview published on Monday.
“By mid-May we should already have entered a plateau. Then, in the first month of summer (June), it should already be getting better,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The Russian military has identified almost 900 cases of the novel coronavirus among its personnel, state media reported on Sunday, citing the Defence Ministry.
Only four were in critical condition at that time, the report said.
While Russia’s caseload is one of the highest in the world, the death toll has been relatively low, almost 800 as of Monday, according to the officially published statistics.
Russia has conducted more than three million tests for the novel coronavirus, a state monitoring service said.
dpa/NAN.