Two percent of Moscow residents have coronavirus: mayor
Russia has so far reported more than 114,000 cases of the coronavirus.
MOSCOW (AFP) - About two percent of Moscow residents -- or more than 250,000 people -- have the coronavirus, the mayor of the Russian capital said on Saturday, citing test results.
"According to screening tests of various population groups, the real number of the infected is around 2 percent of Moscow’s total population," Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his blog.
Russia has so far reported more than 114,000 cases of the coronavirus including 57,300 cases in Moscow, which is the epicentre of the contagion.
According to official statistics, Moscow has a population of 12.7 million people but the real figure is believed to be higher.
Sobyanin said Moscow has significantly ramped up testing capacity over the past few weeks, adding the city has managed to "contain the spread of the infection" due to the enforcement of stay-at-home rules and other measures.
But he reiterated that the city was not yet past the peak of the outbreak.
"The threat is apparently on the rise," he said.
Russia’s official fatality rate, with 1,169 deaths as of Saturday morning, is low in comparison to countries like Italy, Spain and the United States.
The health ministry said on Friday that the number of infected children was on the rise.
Two children died from the coronavirus in the country, and 11 more were in a serious condition, the ministry said.
