Russia hits new record for COVID-19 deaths, resists lockdown
by Vladimir Isachenkov
Russia hit another record of daily coronavirus deaths Tuesday as the country struggled with a rapid surge of infections and lagging vaccination rates, but authorities have been adamant that there would be no new national lockdown.
The government coronavirus task force reported 973 coronavirus deaths, the highest daily toll since the start of the pandemic. Russia has repeatedly hit record daily death tolls this month, and daily infections also have been hovering near all-time highs, with 28,190 new cases reported Tuesday.
Despite the rapidly mounting toll, the Kremlin has ruled out a nationwide lockdown, delegating the power to make decisions on toughening coronavirus restrictions to regional authorities.
The soaring infections has raised the pressure on Russia's health care system, with hospitals filling up quickly. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said 11% of Russia's 235,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients are in serious or critical condition.
Overall, Russia's coronavirus task force has registered over 7.8 million confirmed cases and 218,345 deaths—the highest death toll in Europe. Yet the state statistics agency Rosstat, which also counts deaths where the virus wasn't considered the main cause, has reported a much higher total—about 418,000 deaths of people with COVID-19.
If that higher number is used, Russia would be the fourth hardest-hit nation in the world during the pandemic, after the United States, Brazil and India. Even the lower mortality figure only shifts Russia down to fifth place, after Mexico.
The Russian government has blamed the sharp rise in infections and deaths that began last month on a slow vaccination rate. Only 47.8 million Russians, or almost 33% of its nearly 146 million people, have received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine, and 42.4 million, about 29%, were fully vaccinated, the government said Friday.
Speaking at a meeting with newly-elected Russian lawmakers, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized on Tuesday the importance of broad vaccination and urged lawmakers to help encourage the population to get the shots.
"We must patiently and persistently work with people and explain all the advantages of prophylactics against that dangerous disease," Putin said, noting that the population must be persuaded to get the shots without resorting to administrative pressure.
Amid a quick tide of infections, some Russian regions have restricted attendance at large public events and limited access to theaters, restaurants and other places to people who have been vaccinated, recently recovered from COVID-19 or tested negative in the previous 72 hours.
But life remains largely normal in Moscow, St. Petersburg and many other Russian cities, with businesses operating as usual and mask mandates loosely enforced. In Moscow, the authorities expanded free coronavirus tests in shopping malls, hoping it would help stem contagion.
Let us know if there is a problem with our content
Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page.
For general inquiries, please use our contact form.
For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines).
Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors
Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.
Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience
We keep our content available to everyone.
Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process
and policies.
Editors
have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
Medical Xpress is a web-based medical and health news service that is part of the renowned Science X network.
Based on the years of experience as a Phys.org medical research channel, started in April 2011, Medical Xpress became a separate website.
Medical Xpress is a part of Science X network.
With global reach of over 5 million monthly readers and featuring dedicated websites for hard sciences, technology, smedical research and health news,
the Science X network is one of the largest online communities for science-minded people.