Russian prime minister tests positive for coronavirus, cases surge pass 100,000

The prime minister of Russia tested positive for coronavirus as the country surged past 100,000 cases Thursday, a day after the nation reported its largest daily in spike in cases since the outbreak first emerged there earlier this year.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in a statement he was unsure of how he contracted the disease, but he is hospitalized with a high fever, according to the Kommersant business daily. He has reportedly not had any recent contact with President Vladimir Putin, but he has with some cabinet officials.

Russia’s coronavirus response center said it recorded 7,099 new infections in the prior 24 hours, bringing the total number of people diagnosed to 106,498. The figure marks the eighth-most cases of any nation in the world.

Earlier this week, the country overtook both China and Iran in number of infected, though it has so far recorded significantly fewer deaths than similarly hard-hit countries.

The official nationwide death toll climbed to 1,073 on Thursday, with 101 people succumbing to COVID-19 related symptoms in the previous 24 hours alone, Reuters reported.

Russia, the world’s largest nation by territory, has been under lockdown for about five weeks. At the end of March, Putin announced the closures of most public spaces in a bid to slow the fast-spreading coronavirus.

During an address to the nation on Tuesday, Putin declared that Russia’s national “non-working” month would be extended for at least another two weeks and warned the outbreak’s peak is still yet to come.

“The situation is very difficult,” he said. “We are facing new and perhaps the most intense stage in countering the epidemic.”

The Russian leader revealed he also ordered officials to develop a “package of urgent measures to support the economy.” Lockdown guidelines — which include the closure of nonessential businesses — paired with the collapse of oil prices has put the economy on track for a 4% to 6% contraction, according to the central bank.

Putin was previously in self-isolation for several weeks after shaking hands with a senior doctor at a Moscow hospital, who later tested positive for the virus.

With News Wire Services

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