Russia reported 9,200 new cases on Saturday, May 16, pushing its overall total to 272,043 confirmed cases, according to the country’s coronavirus headquarters, CNN reports.

The country ranks second in the world for confirmed coronavirus cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Moscow's health department hit back at media reports on Wednesday that it was underreporting Covid-19 fatalities, saying its data was "absolutely open," but acknowledging that it only counts deaths that were found through postmortem autopsy to have been caused directly by coronavirus complications.

Moscow, the worst-hit city in the country, saw a surge in mortality in April, according to civil register's data. The city registered 11,846 death certificates that month, which is about 20% higher compared to a 10-year monthly average of 9,866 deaths.