Russia confirmed 9,412 new coronavirus cases Friday, crossing the 9,000 mark for the first time in four months as the rising number of new infections across the country stokes fears of a new lockdown.
Russia, which has the world’s fourth-highest number of infections at 1,194,643, has seen its daily caseload rise sharply from less than 5,000 to nearly 9,500 over the past month.
The last time Russia recorded more than 9,000 new coronavirus infections was on June 1, when total cases were one-third of the current count.
Deaths nationwide also passed the 21,000 mark with 186 fatalities confirmed Friday — the most in two months and two weeks.
The Open Media news website reported Thursday that Russia broke its record for symptomatic cases — 6,519 — since the start of the pandemic. The previous record stood at 6,418 on May 9.
Moscow continues to lead all Russian cities and regions in daily recorded cases with 2,704 confirmed infections Friday. The city's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said it has seen more than 5,000 hospitalizations per week and more than 1,500 severe cases during its latest surge.
Though health officials have sought to assuage fears of new lockdown measures, Sobyanin warned Thursday that he may reinstate tough measures if Muscovites fail to observe health guidelines.
He has already announced an extended two-week school break, forced offices to send one-third of their workforce home starting next Monday and strongly urged the elderly to stay indoors.
The Kremlin said Friday it was not yet discussing new restrictions in light of the Covid-19 surge.
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