By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Russia reported on Friday a record number of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.
A total of 24,318 people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past day, according to the Health Ministry.
Despite the daily rise in infections, active cases fell for the fourth day in a row totaling at 453,201.
So far, 2.03 million people in Russia have contracted the coronavirus.
Friday's figures broke another record with deaths crossing the 35,000 mark.
At least 461 more deaths were registered over the past day.
Over the same period recoveries went up by 24,758, taking the overall count to 1.55 million.
Russia's overall case tally is the fifth highest in the world, behind the US, India, Brazil, and France.