Covid-19 cases exploding in Russia - more than 10,000 new cases/day

This year, Russians celebrated the 75th anniversary of Victory Day at home as the country is ravaged by the coronavirus epidemic.

For the last week, more than 10,000 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed every single day; the epidemic is now spreading faster in Russia than in any other country other than the United States, NBC reports.

In recent years during President Vladimir Putin's tenure, Victory Day has been marked with elaborate parades and an impressive display of Russian military might, but this year, the pageantry has been postponed to a later date, and only Air Force flyovers and fireworks were authorized.

Around half of the country's virus cases are concentrated in the capital, Moscow, where strict lockdown regulations will remain in effect at least until the end of May. In other parts of the country, the stay-at-home order will expire in two days, but it may well be extended.

So far, Russia has confirmed almost 200,000 cases of Covid-19, and almost 2,000 people have died.

Meanwhile, NBC reports that in neighboring Belarus, the festivities went ahead as planned. A large parade was held on Saturday, and a concert and fireworks are planned in the capital, Minsk.