After months of denial, Russia admits the virus is taking hold

The mayor of hard-hit Moscow acknowledged that 'the situation is becoming increasingly problematic'

The authorities in Moscow said on Friday that coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly here and have already pushed the city’s health care system to its limit.

Warning that the outbreak in the Russian capital was far from reaching its peak, Anastasia Rakova, a deputy mayor responsible for health, said that the number of people hospitalised with the illness related to the virus in Moscow had more than doubled over the past week to 6,500. Nearly half of those infected are under the age of 45.

The city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, sounded a further alarm, saying that the virus “is gaining momentum”