Russia confirmed 7,212 coronavirus infections Friday, the first time in three months that its daily caseload crossed the 7,000 mark.
Overall, the country’s official number of cases has reached 1,136,048, the fourth-highest number of infections in the world.
The last time Russia recorded more than 7,000 new coronavirus infections was on June 25, when the total caseload was around half of the current total.
The highest numbers of new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Moscow (1,560) and St. Petersburg (240), the national coronavirus task force said in its daily update.
Deaths nationwide have also passed the 20,000 mark with 108 fatalities confirmed Friday, the task force said. Separate figures published by Russia’s state statistics agency suggest a much higher number of coronavirus deaths.
Officials have continued to reassure the public that Russia will not go into a full lockdown as it did in spring despite persistent rumors.
Earlier Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ordered elderly residents and those suffering from chronic diseases to stay home and limit contacts starting Monday. He urged the city’s businesses to shift as many employees as possible to remote work to prevent the further spread of Covid-19.
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told regional leaders that he “really wouldn’t like to return to the restrictive measures we introduced this spring.”