100-year-old pelageya poyarkova, fully recovered. moscow's department of health also refuted media reports that the moscow government is understating coronavirus deaths, saying that it openly publishes mortality data. it also said that over 60% of deaths among those with the virus had a different cause of death, which are not counted as covid-19 deaths. it was also reported that low-cost airline pobeda will resume domestic flights on 1 june. russian regulators also suspended the use of aventa-m ventilators which were blamed for causing two fires in hospitals - one in st. petersburg that killed 5 and one in moscow that killed 1. ventilators of the same model were also sent to the united states, with the u.s. federal emergency management agency (fema) saying that the ventilators haven't been deployed and that states will return the ventilators to fema. the health ministry also said that day that it was necessary to increase the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 due to an increase in alcohol-related deaths during the epidemic in russia - there have been a number attempts in the last few years to raise the drinking age. on 14 may, 9,974 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 252,245. confirmed deaths rose to 2,305. the same day, president putin said that education and science minister valery falkov became infected with the virus. tass news agency reported that the virus reproduction rate in russia fell below 1 for the first time, from 1.01 the previous day to 0.97. in moscow, it fell from 0.91 the previous day to 0.88. on 15 may, 10,598 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 262,843. confirmed deaths rose to 2,418. the russian premier league was announced to resume on 21 june by the russian football union, with matches being held without spectators. they were suspended since 17 march. yandex also announced the end of its free coronavirus testing program. 20,000 people were tested for free since the program began on 20 april. it said that mass testing is now possible without its help and as a result, will focus on other initiatives such as supporting doctors, social workers and charities. on 16 may, 9,200 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 272,043. confirmed deaths rose to 2,537. on 17 may, 9,709 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 281,752. confirmed deaths rose to 2,631. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo said that day that aid from the united states, including testing equipment and ventilators, was "on its way" to russia. it was reported that 200 american-made ventilators were planned to be sent to russia in the next week. chechnya's leader, ramzan kadyrov was also reported to have demanded the firings of medical staff who complained about personal protective equipment shortages and another worker who mistakenly reported the death of a colleague. dagestan's health minister, dzhamaludin gadzhiibragimov, also said that day that 40 health workers had died since the outbreak began, while official statistics said that 27 people had died in the region. he also said that 657 patients had died of community-acquired pneumonia, with symptoms of covid-19 but no positive test results. dagestan's health minister also said that 13,697 people contracted the virus or community-acquired pneumonia. the health ministry also later said that the deaths of doctors were also caused by other diseases. rospotrebnadzor head, anna popova, also said that day that the coronavirus situation in russia has been stabilising. on 18 may, 8,926 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 290,678. confirmed deaths rose to 2,722. that day, president putin also noted the "difficult" situation in dagestan, as local officials had described it as "catastrophic" - the region's top cleric, ahmad afandi abdulaev, called the situation dire; he pleaded to the kremlin for assistance. the state channel, rossiya 24, reported that 3% of families in the region give consent to autopsies which may distort statistics. professional mixed martial artist khabib nurmagomedov also urged residents of his native republic, dagestan, to comply with the requirements of doctors and celebrate the holiday of uraza-bayram at home. he also confirmed that his father was infected with the virus and that his situation was serious. prime minister mishustin said that day that 27 regions are ready to ease restrictions. russian health minister, mikhail murashko, also said that day that clinical trials of a vaccine were planned in a month. he said that "russia manufactures more than 20 testing systems. it is developing full-cycle medicines, which are ready for clinical use. serious work is being done to develop vaccines for preventive immunisation against the disease. it is planned to begin their clinical trials in a month". saratov oblast reinstated its ban on walks and outdoor activities a week after easing restrictions due to an increase in cases. on 19 may, 9,273 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 299,941. confirmed deaths rose to 2,837. prime minister mishustin resumed his official duties after announcing he tested positive for the virus on 30 april. on 20 may, 8,764 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 308,705. confirmed deaths rose to 2,972. moscow mayor sobyanin said that the number of deaths is expected to be significantly higher than in april. on 21 may, 8,849 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 317,554. confirmed deaths rose to 3,099. that day, interfax news agency reported that chechnya's leader, ramzan kadyrov, was suspected of having the virus and was under the supervision of doctors in moscow. the u.s. associated press news agency also analysed official statements and news reports in more than 70 regions which show that at least 9,479 medical workers have been infected in the past month and that more than 70 died. medical workers have put the death toll higher in a list with more than 250 names. the news agency also reported complaints of protective equipment shortages by medical workers, which officials have insisted are isolated rather than widespread. moscow's mayor, sobyanin, also said that the city's public registry services will re-open and that car-sharing will resume on 25 may, while all other restrictions would remain. on 22 may, 8,894 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 326,448. confirmed deaths rose to 3,249. president putin said in a televised video-conference with government officials and health experts that the outbreak was stabilising however warned that another outbreak could hit the country later in the year during autumn and that preparations should be made. it was also reported that in the moscow region, violators of the self-isolation regime could face up to 100 hours of community service in hospitals as punishment. it was also reported that a vaccine for the virus was successfully tested on humans at the gamaleya centre for epidemiology and microbiology. on 23 may, 9,434 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 335,882. confirmed deaths rose to 3,388. the gamaleya centre for epidemiology and microbiology said that it expects to start clinical testing of its coronavirus vaccine in early june. the defence ministry said that 1,457 servicemen had tested positive for the virus, with recoveries including 1,204 servicemen, 1,542 cadets, 308 students of pre-universities and 178 civilian personnel. most of those who were infected did not show symptoms. on 24 may, 8,599 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 344,481. confirmed deaths rose to 3,541. on 25 may, 8,946 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 353,427. confirmed deaths rose to 3,633. prime minister mishustin advised citizens to not plan vacations abroad, saying that it was important to reduce the risk of re-importing cases. the federal penitentiary service also reported that 980 employees and 238 inmates were infected with the virus. the defence ministry said that 1,522 servicemen had tested positive for the virus, with 1,340 having recovered. on 26 may, 8,915 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 362,342. confirmed deaths rose to 3,807. president putin announced that the 2020 victory day parade would be held on 24 june, coinciding with the moscow victory parade of 1945. the vector institute said that it plans to start clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine in late june. britain's embassy in moscow said that british prime minister boris johnson invited president putin to the virtual global vaccine summit 2020 which is being held by the british government on 4 june. on 27 may, 8,338 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 370,680. confirmed deaths rose to 3,968. moscow's mayor, sobyanin, announced that some restrictions would be lifted on 1 june. non-food shops would re-open and some service sector businesses that do not require prolonged contact between people would be re-opened. he also said that residents would be able to go outside for walks and sport, and that parks and green areas except zaryadye park would re-open. park attractions, sports grounds and playgrounds would remain closed. a schedule system however would be in place to prevent everyone from going out at once. city bike rentals would be available to everyone and hospitals will begin a gradual return towards providing regular routine medical care. rospotrebnadzor said that moscow is ready to start lifting restrictions. chechnya's leader, ramzan kadyrov said that day that he was healthy after media reports of suspicions of a coronavirus infection. the health ministry also said that day that asymptomatic cases would stop being counted. on 28 may, 8,371 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 379,051. confirmed deaths rose to 4,142. moscow's health department said that it revised the city's coronavirus death toll using a new methodology. the death toll was originally 636 for april, however it said in a statement that the revised death toll was 1,561, including 756 people diagnosed with the virus but were determined to have died of other causes and 169 people who tested negative but were suspected of having the virus. it said that the methodology would include "even controversial, questionable cases" however the city's death rate from the virus was considerably lower compared to other cities like london and new york. the new methodology so far had not been used to revise the official death toll for the city or the entire country. also that day, moscow's mayor sobyanin said that restrictions would remain until a vaccine is developed. on 29 may, 8,572 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 387,623. confirmed deaths rose to 4,374. prime minister mishustin that day added the media sector to a list of industries that qualify for government support which include tax payment deferrals, interest-free loans, rental payments, soft loans, a moratorium on bankruptcy, grants and more. on 30 may, 8,952 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 396,575. confirmed deaths rose to 4,555. health minister mikhail murashko said that vaccine tests were under way and that clinical trials were planned to begin in the next two weeks. he also said that volunteers had been chosen to take part in the trials. the russian direct investment fund said that the health ministry had approved avifavir for the treatment of the virus. it also said that the drug was highly effective in treating patients in the first phase of its clinical trials. on 31 may, 9,268 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 405,842. confirmed deaths rose to 4,693. june 2020 on 1 june, 9,035 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 414,878. confirmed deaths rose to 4,855. reuters news agency reported that russia would roll out its first approved drug to treat covid-19 in the next week. it said that hospitals would be able to give the drug, avifavir, to patients starting 11 june, according to the head of the russian direct investment fund. president putin said that the 2020 russian constitutional referendum was planned to be held on 1 july. a proposal to allow early voting from 25 june, after the planned victory day parade, was made by ella pamfilova, head of the central election commission. on 2 june, 8,863 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 423,741. confirmed deaths rose to 5,037. prime minister mikhail mishustin said that the government would launch a 5 trillion ruble ($73 billion) recovery plan in the next month to counteract the pandemic's economic impact. the program