MOSCOW , Russia has broken another record for daily deaths from coronaviruses as it battles through an incessant surge of infections that has led to restrictions across the country.
On Thursday, the national coronavirus taskforce reported that 1,195 people had died from COVID-19 in the last day. This is more than the 1,189 deaths recorded in the previous day. Russia has been experiencing new infections and deaths nearly every day since late September.
The task force reported 40.217 new infections in October, a decrease from the record of 40,993 set on Oct. 31.
Only 35% of Russia’s nearly 146million people have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus. This despite the fact that Russia approved a vaccine against coronavirus several months earlier than most other countries.
Russia’s state coronavirus taskforce reported over 8.6 million coronavirus cases, and more than 243,000 deaths during this pandemic.
Six days have elapsed since Russia was placed in a national non-working period by the government to stop the spread of the virus. Many Russians were ordered by President Vladimir Putin to avoid work between October 30 and November 7. Regional governments can extend the non-working days if needed.
Officials from Russia’s Novgorod Region, 500 km (310 miles) north of Moscow, stated Monday that the time away would continue for another week. The same was true for four other regions: the Tomsk, Siberia, Chelyabinsk, Ural Mountains, Kursk, and Bryansk regions, all located southwest of Moscow. Smolensk, a region bordering Belarus, extended the non-working days but only to Nov. 10.
At least three governors from other regions indicated that they are considering the possibility of extending this nonworking period.
Officials said that the nonworking period in Moscow and the region around it, which together account nearly 25% of daily new infections, will not be extended beyond Nov. 7.
Some restrictions will still be in effect in Moscow, including a stay at home order for seniors and a mandate that 30% of businesses’ staff work remotely. Only those who have been fully vaccinated or have had COVID-19 treatment within the past six months, or have a negative coronavirus test, are allowed to visit theaters and museums.
Rosstat, Russia’s statistical service, reports that coronavirus-linked deaths are retroactively tallied shows a much higher mortality rate than the task force. Last week, a report showed that approximately 462,000 COVID-19-infected people died between April 2020 & September 2017.
Russian officials claim that the task force includes only deaths where COVID-19 is the primary cause. They also use data from medical facilities. Rosstat uses a wider range of criteria to count virus-related deaths. It gets its numbers from civil registry offices, which are responsible for finalizing the registration process.
