Russian COVID-19 cases grow to 252,245

A medical worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) disinfects her colleague at the National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology where patients suffering from COVID-19 are treated in Moscow, Russia, on May 14, 2020. Russia has confirmed 9,974 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, raising its total number of infections to 252,245, its coronavirus response center said in a statement Thursday. Global confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 4.4 million on Thursday, reaching 4,405,019 as of 12:32 p.m. (1632 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Global COVID-19 deaths surpassed 300,000 on Thursday, reaching 300,074 as of 12:32 p.m. (1632 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. (Sputnik via Xinhua)