Russian church leader isolates after coming into contact with person with coronavirus

Patriarch Kirill, the leader of Russia's Orthodox Church, said on Thursday he had gone into isolation after coming into contact with someone with the new coronavirus.

The 73-year-old said he was unable to join church prayers with his congregation because of medical guidelines requiring him to isolate. He did not mention having any symptoms in a statement on the church's website.

Russia reported 11,493 new coronavirus cases earlier on Thursday, just short of the most confirmed in a single day during the pandemic, pushing the overall total to 1,260,112.