Russia confirms nearly 8,000 new COVID-19 cases

The number of coronavirus infections in Russia jumped by 7,972 in the past 24 hours to reach a total of 569,063, the country's health officials unveiled on Friday.

The death toll from COVID-19 in Russia climbed by 181 to 7,841, while the number of recovered patients rose by 10,443 to 324,406.

The country conducted over 16.3 million tests for the virus since the outbreak began.

New infections had plateaued since mid-May when officials were reporting daily increases of around 11,000 cases.

Officials say Russia's high virus count is the result of mass testing and that a steady decline in new infections and low fatality numbers mean that the country can begin to return to normal.

Yet critics have cast doubt on the numbers, accusing the authorities of under-reporting deaths and threatening a new wave of infections by lifting restrictions.