Russia confirms first coronavirus death

Russia confirmed on Thursday the country's first death from the novel coronavirus.

An elderly woman who had contracted the coronavirus died in a hospital in Moscow, according to a special emergency team established to stem the spread of the virus in the country.

"The 79-year-old patient was hospitalized on March 13, but at the personal insistence of her relatives, she went to a private medical organization for treatment on March 14. After receiving a positive test result for a coronavirus infection, she was immediately transferred to infectious diseases hospital," it said.

The team noted that the woman had a number of chronic diseases, which complicated the treatment.