Russia’s coronavirus tally rises above 10,000 with Moscow at its epicentre as Putin brings in strict punishments for breaking lockdown
- Nation saw a record one-day rise in cases and a death toll increase from 13 to 76
- It is now illegal to break lockdown with punishment of up to seven years in prison
- Spreading misinformation also carries a sentence of up to five years behind bars
Russia’s coronavirus tally has risen above 10,000 as Putin introduces strict punishments for breaking lockdown.
The country reported a record one-day rise of 1,459 new cases on Thursday with the death toll also rising from 13 to 76, according to the national coronavirus crisis response centre.
The organisation added that it had so far conducted one million tests.
Russia’s coronavirus tally has risen above 10,000 as Putin introduces strict punishments for breaking lockdown. Pictured: Man wearing a gas mask in Red Square
The country reported a record one-day rise of 1,459 new cases on Thursday with the death toll also rising from 13 to 76, according to the national coronavirus crisis response centre. Pictured: Man on a metro train in Moscow amid the pandemic
It comes after President Vladimir Putin signed legislation to make it illegal to break the quarantine rules with punishments up to seven years in prison.
He also introduced a sentence of up to five years behind bars for spreading false information about Covid-19, according to The Moscow Times.
But Putin said he would delegate decision-making to individual regional authorities because of the differences in infection rates across the country.
It comes after President Vladimir Putin signed legislation to make it illegal to break the quarantine rules with punishments up to seven years in prison. Pictured: Police officers in Red Square
Moscow has proved to be the epicentre of the outbreak and accounts for the vast majority of confirmed cases in Russia. Pictured: Food delivery service employee waiting for the Moscow Metro
Moscow has proved to be the epicentre of the outbreak and accounts for the vast majority of confirmed cases in Russia.
But there are territories with very few cases which had, until now, been subject to the same tight restrictions as the capital.
During the televised address Putin also ordered an extension of the national ‘non-working week’ until the end of the month – a measure introduced to increase social distancing.