Russia reported more than 28,000 coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the latest record amid the second wave plaguing the country’s major cities and far-flung regions.
Health officials reported 28,145 new infections across every Russian region Thursday, bringing the total caseload to 2,375,546. Russia has the world’s fourth-highest Covid-19 case numbers behind Brazil, India and the United States.
More than one-fifths of those infected did not exhibit symptoms, according to Russia’s Covid-19 task force.
The number of deaths due to coronavirus increased by 554 — one day after seeing a record 589 fatalities — pushing the death toll to 41,607. Russia now has the world’s 10th-highest coronavirus death toll.
Internal documents obtained by the independent news website Mediazona placed Russia’s Covid-19 death toll at almost 75,000 — or the fifth-highest in the world — between April and mid-November. The outlet earlier estimated up to 120,000 excess deaths between April and October.
Russia’s coronavirus task force said 29,502 people have recovered from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with overall recoveries totaling 1,859,851.
Russia has avoided reintroducing strict lockdown measures seen in other parts of Europe despite the surge, pinning hopes on a domestically made vaccine expected in the coming weeks.
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered the mass vaccination against coronavirus among the Russian population to start late next week, with doctors and teachers first in line to receive the country’s Sputnik V jab.
Authorities have reinstated a nationwide mask mandate and some Russian regions extended targeted stay-at-home and remote-work and study restrictions. Moscow and St. Petersburg ordered restaurants and other venues to shut down through the New Year.