The number of new coronavirus infections in Russia reached another record, the third consecutive day that this occurs at a time when the omicron variant is spreading through the country.
The national commission to fight the coronavirus reported 63,205 new infections in the space of 24 hours, an increase of more than 25% from the record set on Friday. There were 679 deaths, a figure similar to the last few days.
The omicron variant has been detected in 64 of the country’s 89 regions, and Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova says authorities anticipate it will be the dominant strain.
About half of Russia’s 146 million people are fully vaccinated despite the fact that Russia was one of the first countries to manufacture and offer a vaccine.
In Russia, everyone who received their primary vaccination more than six months ago is eligible for a booster vaccination from July.
Gogov.ru, an independent website that monitors vaccinations in Russia, estimates that 8.8 million people have received the booster shot.
Still, the daily numbers of new cases have been on the rise since January 10.
The national COVID commission has recorded 326,112 deaths since the start of the pandemic, by far the highest figure in Europe.
Russia’s statistics agency, which uses broader counting methods, puts the death toll even higher, saying the number of virus-related deaths between April 2020 and October 2021 was more than 625,000.
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