MOSCOW, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia registered 29,350 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the highest number of daily infections to date, the country's COVID-19 response center said Monday.

The country has registered 2,877,727 coronavirus infections over the course of the pandemic, making its caseload the fourth highest in the world.

Meanwhile, 493 new deaths were reported, taking the nationwide count to 51,351.

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 7,797 new cases, taking its tally of infections to 743,697, the response center said.

According to the center, 2,295,362 people have recovered, including 19,705 over the past day.

So far, over 86.3 million tests have been conducted across the country.