Russia recorded record coronavirus deaths for third day in a row

Russia reported its highest number of coronavirus deaths on Thursday for the third day in a row, due to the increase in infections caused due to the contagious delta variant and the low vaccination rate.

A government tally reported 867 deaths in the past 24 hours and 23,888 new cases.

The total since the start of the pandemic in the country stands at 207,255 deaths from covid-19, lthe highest death toll in Europe.

Independent experts accuse Russian authorities of downplaying the severity of the epidemic.

Russia, fifth most affected country in the world With more than seven million infections, it has seen an increase in cases in the past month as the vaccination halted.

Moscow, the epicenter of the epidemic, is experiencing a recent rebound and authorities warn of increasing hospitalizations.

Moscow and other regions introduced compulsory vaccination in summer, but the countryside has since stalled.

According to a broader definition of coronavirus-related deaths, the statistics agency Rosstat reported in August that there had been more than 350,000 deaths in Russia.

Several Russian vaccines have been available for months, but the authorities struggled to immunize a skeptical population.

As of Thursday, just under 29% of the population was fully vaccinated, according to the Gogov site, which collects data on covid-19 in different Russian regions.

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