Russia on Friday reported 232 deaths from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, a record one-day amount that pushed the nationwide death toll to 4,374.

Officials said 8,572 new infections had been confirmed, bringing the national tally to 387,623, the third-highest reported total in the world after the United States and Brazil.

Health officials in Moscow updated their figures on coronavirus deaths Thursday, seeking to dispel doubts about Russia's comparatively low COVID-19 death toll. The health department in the Russian capital said Moscow's coronavirus mortality rate for April was 1.4% to 2.8% depending on the calculation method, a range significantly lower than in London, New York and some other major cities.

Moscow has accounted for about half of Russia's more than 379,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. Officials said detailed nationwide statistics on coronavirus mortality will be released later this week.

The Russian Health Ministry issued a new directive late Wednesday prescribing that asymptomatic people who tested positive for the virus should be counted separately from those with COVID-19 symptoms. The ministry document also contained detailed instructions for recording COVID-19 deaths. The guidance explains situations when deaths should be attributed to the coronavirus and cases when it should be linked to chronic ailments. The ministry said the instructions were based on advice issued by the World Health Organization.