Coronavirus recoveries cross half a million in Russia

MOSCOW

Recoveries from the novel coronavirus in Russia crossed half a million on Sunday.

Over the last 24 hours, 3,615 people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the number of cured patients to 501,061, the country’s emergency task force said in a daily report.

Over the same period, 6,615 new infections were registered in the country, raising the tally to 727,162, while fatalities increased by 130 to reach 11,335.

For the fourth consecutive week, recoveries in Russia continued to outnumber new cases as the country has been seeing a downward trend in the rate of rise in infections.

Over the last seven days, 45,908 people tested positive for COVID-19 against 46,814 the week before.

Meanwhile, the number of recoveries this week were also lower than the previous week, 50,312 over 51,663, while the death rate was higher, 1,174, comparing to 1,088 last week.

The First Moscow State Medical University has “successfully completed” tests on volunteers of the “world's first vaccine against the coronavirus,” Vadim Tarasov, a top university official, said on Sunday.

Other vaccines, including a special vaccine for children, are being tested in several laboratories throughout the country.

Since originating in China last December, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 565,300 lives in 188 countries and regions.

More than 12.72 million cases have been reported worldwide, while over 7.01 million patients have recovered so far, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.