Russia recorded highest number of daily coronavirus deaths of the year for second day in a row

Russia has recorded 619 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, a record daily figure so far this year, as reported by local authorities.

For the first time, the second city of the country, St. Petersburg, added more coronavirus deaths (107) than the capital, which reported 96.

In addition, positive cases at the national level amounted to 21,665, including 8,457 in Moscow, the epicenter of the pandemic in the country.

A few days ago, the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobianian, I affirm that the city is “practically at the peak of contagion, compared to the previous wave”.

The number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus has steadily increased since the past June 8.

Russia already adds 5,430,753 positives, fifth country in the world in this category behind the United States, India, Brazil and France, and 132,683 deaths from coronavirus, although independent sources multiply official figures by two and three.

This is why the Russian authorities announced on Friday the re-establishment of teleworking for a third of the workforce of companies in Moscow from Monday, while the Minister of Health, Mikhail Murashko, vaccination authorized for pregnant women with Sputnik V.

Recently, Murashko estimated at nearly 10,000 pregnant women infected with COVID-19, in some severe cases.

Last week, the city council has decreed compulsory vaccination for at least 60% of employees in the tertiary sector and he announced that from June 28, gastronomic establishments will only serve people “protected” against the COVID-19 disease.

The City Council considers as protected people who have been vaccinated or who have suffered from the disease during the last 6 months.

In addition, restaurants and cafes could be accessible to those with a negative PCR test with no less than three days validity and that they would be presented exclusively in digital format to avoid counterfeiting.

The Russian health director, Anna Popova, assured that there are already ten regions where vaccination is compulsory for certain “occupational risk groups”.

He added that on Monday, depending on the health and epidemic situation, it will be decided whether other regions will also adopt these measures.

According to Murachko, more than 21 million Russians have already received the first dose of the vaccine, figures much lower than those of other countries, while surveys show that a majority of residents still refuse to be vaccinated.

Russia admits “explosive” spread of cases with Delta variant

Worsened by the spread of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, Russia has warned of an “explosive” spread of coronavirus infections, as the country carries out a slow vaccination campaign.

In addition to recognizing the exponential growth of infections in all Russian regions, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova called for stricter restrictive measures and an acceleration of the vaccination strategy.

“Last week, the death rate from Covid rose 21.3% from previous months,” Golikova said, as the country records thousands of new cases and hundreds of deaths every 24 hours.

The president himself, Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly called on the Russians to be vaccinated with the Sputnik V vaccine, an inoculant that faces some suspicion and reluctance on the part of the population. However, presidential demands did not flow even among Russians and only 15% of the population agreed to receive an injection.

(With information from EFE)

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