Coronavirus cases in Russia surpass 200,000

The number of novel coronavirus cases in Russia surpassed 200,000 on Sunday as the number of deaths approached 2,000, according to the country's emergency task force.

With 11,012 infections registered over the past day, the total number of cases rose to 209,688, it said in a daily report.

In the same period, 88 people died, raising the death toll to 1,915, while recoveries reached 34,306, including 2,390 in the last 24 hours.

The growth rate of new cases in the country has fallen, despite new cases exceeding 10,000 for the eighth day in a row, said the emergency task force.

"The daily increase was 5.5%, the lowest since the outbreak began. It is noted that 4,674 (42.4%) of the newly recorded cases were actively identified as asymptomatic," it said.

To date, 5.44 million tests were carried out in Russia aiming to diagnose the illness at early stages when it is less contagious.

The capital Moscow remains the worst-hit area, counting more than half -- 109,740 -- of all cases, with 80% of patients being under 65 years old and 6% children.

Four top Russian officials, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, were hospitalized over the past two weeks after contracting COVID-19.

Despite the country's measures, including a lockdown in Moscow, a ban on foreign entry and suspension of international air and railway traffic, Russia is the fifth-worst coronavirus-hit country in terms of number of cases.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed over 279,000 worldwide with more than 4.03 million total infections, while recoveries surpassed 1.38 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.