Coronavirus infections rise in Eurasia

NUR SULTAN, Kazakhstan

Cases and fatalities related to the novel coronavirus continued to rise across Eurasia on Wednesday.

Health authorities in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine and Moldova announced new statistics on the outbreak.

Russia

Russia became the fifth country in the world with the highest coronavirus cases with 10,559 additional cases for a total of 165,929.

The number of fatalities rose by 86 over the past 24 hours, while 1,537 people died from the pandemic so far, the emergency team said in a daily report.

Recoveries reached 21,327, among which 1,462 patients were discharged from hospitals since Tuesday.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, the total number of cases was reported as 13,184 and the death toll in the country rose to 327, while 2,097 patients have recovered so far.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that to stem the spread of the virus, the country would not hold public Victory Day celebrations on May 9.

Moldova

Seven more people in Moldova died of COVID-19, raising the death toll to 143.

Some 4,476 cases have been reported so far in the country, according to health officials.

Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, the number of cases increased by 46, bringing the total to 4,344. So far, 30 people have died in the country.

Kyrgyzstan

With a total of 871, the number of cases in Kyrgyzstan increased by 28, said the country's Health Ministry.

At least 12 people have died from the virus and 614 have recovered.

Belarus

In Belarus, another 905 people were confirmed to have contracted COVID-10, bringing the total to 19,255.

The number of recoveries reached 4,388 and the death toll hit 112 in the country.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani officials reported 67 new cases of the virus, for a total of 2,127.

The number of recoveries hit 1,536 in the country, while the death toll is 28, according to the Health Ministry.

Tajikistan

In Tajikistan, 86 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, bringing the total to 379.

A total of eight people have died in the country.

Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan, 14 more people contracted the virus, raising the tally of cases to 2,231.

10 people have died and 1,577 recovered in the country.

COVID-19 cases have been reported in 187 countries and regions since it emerged in China last December, with the US and Europe now the hardest-hit areas.

The pandemic has killed over 259,600 worldwide, with total infections over 3.7 million, while recoveries surpassed 1.22 million, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

* Writing by Havva Kara Aydin