President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that stay-at-home orders for most workers in Russia would be eased this week even as the country registered a record increase in new coronavirus infections, according to AFP.

With more than 220,000 confirmed cases and a steady surge of more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases every day, Russia now ranks fourth in a global tally of total infections after the United States, Spain and Britain.

Despite virus figures that suggest the pandemic in Russia shows no sign of slowing, Putin announced that the country's “non-working” period to slow the pandemic would end on Tuesday.

“Starting from tomorrow, May 12, the national period of non-working days will be over for all sectors of the economy,” Putin said during a meeting with officials responsible for the country's virus response.