Tests in the wider Moscow region to see if people are carrying coronavirus antibodies suggest that as many as one in 10 residents may have been infected, Reuters reported a government project as saying on Friday.

The results, disclosed to Reuters by Moscow's International Medical Cluster, suggest that the novel coronavirus has spread more widely than the official tallies of confirmed infections.

Moscow and the Moscow region around it has reported 44,786 confirmed cases of the virus, suggesting 0.2 per cent of the area's population of more than 20 million has been infected.

The Moscow branch of the Israeli Haddassa Medical clinic offers tests for the presence of antibodies to people with no flu-like symptoms.

“Last week, when the testing was launched, about 3pc of people had (coronavirus) antibodies. This week, the figure rose to about 9-10pc. That means that gradual immunisation is underway,” it said.