Another 71 test positive for coronavirus in Russia, bringing total number of confirmed cases to 438, as senior citizens are ordered to shelter in place

In the past 24 hours, Russia confirmed another 71 cases of coronavirus, according to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, raising the country's total number of positive tests to 438. A federal task force says all the new infections were reported in Moscow.

Officials in the capital also reported that they have agreed with the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) to change the way cases are confirmed: an infection will now be declared immediately after someone tests positive for coronavirus at one of the labs in Moscow, and samples will no longer be sent to the “Vektor” Novosibirsk virology center for confirmation.

Mishustin also called on senior citizens across the country to remain at home and avoid going outside unless absolutely necessary. In Moscow, Mayor Sobyanin issued an executive order placing people older than 65 and persons with chronic illnesses under shelter-in-place from March 26 to April 14.

At the time of this writing, 17 people in Russia have recovered from coronavirus: 14 Russians, two Chinese nationals, and one Italian citizen.

On March 19, a woman in Moscow previously diagnosed with coronavirus died while hospitalized. City officials coded the cause of her death as a detached blood clot. She is the only person in the country who is known to have died after testing positive for coronavirus.