Russian Prime Minister tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.Photo: Getty

On April 30, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced that he had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and President Vladimir Putin approved the proposal to appoint First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov as acting Prime Minister of Russia while he recovers.

According to the VNA correspondent in Moscow, this information was provided by Prime Minister Mishustin during an online meeting with President Putin. Prime Minister Mishustin stated that he had tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and would have to comply with the quarantine regime and doctor's instructions.

However, he will maintain regular contact with the Russian cabinet via phone and video, while the government will continue to function as normal.

On April 30th, President Putin signed a decree appointing First Deputy Prime Minister Belousov as acting Prime Minister of Russia.

Speaking on Russian television, Prime Minister Mishustin urged citizens to take the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic very seriously. According to Mishustin, the opportunity to return to normal life will depend on how each individual behaves. In the immediate future, during the International Labor Day holiday (May 1st), people should stay home and comply with all necessary restrictions.

In a related development, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin declared that the city had passed the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, but warned residents not to be complacent.

According to Sobyanin, not all Moscow residents fully understand the necessity of monitoring self-isolation and the strict restrictions.

Sobyanin warned that Moscow "has only gone a quarter of the way" in its journey to push back the epidemic.

According to the latest statistics, Moscow has over 53,700 confirmed cases of Covid-19, accounting for more than half of all cases in Russia. Of these, 611 patients have died, and 5,135 have recovered.