Russia's COVID-19 deaths surpass 3,000

As the deadly coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Russia has gradually become the world's second most-infected country.

Russia confirmed 8,849 new coronavirus infections Thursday, bringing the country's official number of cases to 317,554, according to local media.

The COVID-19 death toll climbed by 127 to reach 3,099, while the number of recovered patients rose by 7,289 to a total of 92,681.

Moscow's coronavirus death rate will be "significantly" higher in May than it was in April, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin warned.

Russia has recorded far fewer deaths than other countries with large outbreaks. Still, critics have cast doubt on the low official mortality rate and accused authorities of under-reporting to play down the scale of the crisis.

Russian health officials say one of the reasons the count is lower than in the US and parts of western Europe is that only deaths directly caused by the virus are being reported.