Russia has reported a record high of 439 new deaths linked to the novel coronavirus and authorities in Moscow said they could consider imposing additional restrictions if the situation worsened.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said he did not expect the surge in cases in the capital, which reported nearly 6,000 new infections today, to subside any time soon. He said about 12,000 coronavirus patients were currently hospitalised.

“I hope that more restrictions will not be needed, but that will depend on the situation,” Sobyanin said in an interview with state television.

Nationwide, Russian authorities reported 21,608 new infections over the last 24 hours.

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