MOSCOW (AP) – Russia broke a new record for daily deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday, amid a rapid outbreak of infections and without its vaccination campaign picking up pace.
The government’s coronavirus team reported 973 deaths from coronavirus, the highest daily figure since the beginning of the pandemic.
The country has broken one mortality record after another this month. Daily infections are also approaching record highs with 28,190 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.
In total, the Russian coronavirus team has recorded more than 7.8 million confirmed cases and 218,345 deaths, the highest number in Europe. The state statistical agency Rosstat, which also counts deaths in which the virus was not considered the main cause, has reported a much higher number, about 418,000 deaths with COVID-19.
The Russian government has attributed to the low vaccination rate the sharp rise in infections and deaths that began last month. Just 47.8 million Russians, or nearly 33% of its nearly 146 million people, have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, and 42.4 million, or about 29%, have completed their vaccination. , the government said on Friday.
Despite the rapid increase in cases and mortality, the Kremlin has ruled out a national quarantine and has delegated powers on restrictions associated with the coronavirus to regional authorities.
Some Russian regions have restricted attendance at mass events and limited access to restaurants, theaters and other venues to people who have been vaccinated, recently recovered from COVID-19 or with a negative test from the previous 72 hours.
However, life goes on almost as usual in Moscow, St. Petersburg and many other Russian cities, where companies operate normally and mask regulations are hardly enforced. Moscow authorities expanded free coronavirus testing in shopping malls in the hope that it would help stop the spread.
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