Russia has 9,000 new virus infections, no letup

The number is roughly in line with those reported over the past week as the spread of the virus may be reaching a plateau in Russia.

The national task force for the pandemic said 8,984 new cases were recorded in a day, and 134 people died of the virus. 

New cases of the virus have hovered around 9,000 per day since the middle of May. 

As the worldwide coronavirus death count surpasses 400,000, Russia has tallied 5,859 deaths overall, a number that health experts question as being much too low. 

Russian authorities say it's due to their efficient work at handling the pandemic and method of counting the virus-linked dead that differs from other countries.