Coronavirus deaths in Russia top 5,000

According to local media, Russia confirmed 8,863 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, bringing the country's official number of cases to 423,741.

Over the past 24 hours, 182 people have died, bringing the total toll to 5,037 — a rate considerably lower than in many other countries hit hard by the pandemic.

Authorities have predicted a higher death toll in May than April, attributing this to deaths among patients hospitalized during the peak of the epidemic several weeks ago.

Officials in Moscow — the worst-hit city in Russia — on Thursday released details of mortality statistics for April to quash claims they have been under-reporting deaths to play down the scale of the crisis.

Officials said that, based on those figures, a total of 1,561 people died in the Russian capital in connection with the coronavirus in April. However, adding the toll was "undoubtedly lower" than the number of fatalities in New York and London.

Russia says its low virus death figures are also down to mass testing, which has identified many cases with mild or no symptoms.