Russia reports total of 495 coronavirus cases

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia rose to 495, with 22 recoveries from the virus, authorities said Tuesday.

A total of 57 new cases in 14 regions were registered over the last 24 hours, while five people recovered and were discharged from hospitals, an emergency team said in a statement.

The capital Moscow accounts for more than half of the cases, with a total of 290 patients in hospitals and 28 new infections over the last day.

At a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the real number of cases is much higher, as many do not have "confirmed" status yet.

"In general, we see that 80-90% will actually be confirmed, but it doesn't matter how many, 400 or 500,” he said.

He added: “Moreover, we see that quite a lot of people are at home, just not tested, those who came from abroad. They feel good, well, thank God.”

There are many more ill than are known, he said, explaining: “The level of testing is very low, and no one knows the real picture."

To date Russia has recorded only one death from coronavirus. The first such apparent death was quickly retracted by authorities, saying a thrombus detachment had killed the 79-year old woman.

But Tuesday another death was announced, a woman who was hospitalized with suspected coronavirus and died of cancer.

Social network users have cried foul, accusing the government of hiding the truth in order to prevent panic.