Russian soldiers walk near the Russian Defense Ministry building in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)(Representational image) Russian soldiers walk near the Russian Defense Ministry building in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)(Representational image)

A total of 874 servicemen in the Russian military have tested positive for the new coronavirus since March, Russia’s Defence Ministry said Sunday. Almost half of them —379 people — are isolated at home; others are being treated in various medical facilities.

Four people are in grave condition, including one on a ventilator. Russia has so far reported 80,949 confirmed cases of the virus and 747 deaths. The vast majority of the country’s regions have been on lockdown since late March, with only essential businesses; grocery shops, pharmacies, banks, operating and people ordered to stay at home.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin indefinitely postponed the traditional May 9 military parade marking the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II because of the growing outbreak.

Military units have already rehearsed the parade, footage of these rehearsals showed hundreds of servicemen drilling outside Moscow without observing social distancing. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the military had their own isolation and distancing protocols which allowed them more freedom.

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