Russia's Coronavirus Cases Surpass 1,000 in Biggest One-Day Jump

Russia has registered three coronavirus-related deaths so far.

Russia confirmed 196 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing the country’s official number of cases up to 1,036 and marking the country's largest one-day increase in cases so far. 

Russia said one more person had been killed by the virus in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to four.

Russia’s officially reported numbers — which are still smaller than those in European countries — have sparked suspicion as they spiked in the past week. Experts warn that Russia's testing capacity is hampered by bureaucracy, while officials warn that the real number of cases is likely much higher.

Most of the new cases, 157, are in Moscow. This week, Moscow changed the way it counts its coronavirus cases, with patients considered coronavirus-positive upon a single positive test rather than having samples sent to a lab Novosibirsk for further verification.

Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 530,000 people and killed more than 24,000.