New daily death record in Russia

Russia recorded this Sunday a new record of daily deaths due to Covid-19, in the midst of the fourth wave of the epidemic, increased tenfold by the Delta variant and a very laborious vaccination campaign. In the last twenty-four hours, 890 deaths caused by the virus have been recorded, according to the government’s record. This week, the country had already broken its daily death record four times. The total tally now officially stands at 209,918 dead, making Russia the most bereaved country in Europe.

At the end of July, the Rosstat statistics institute, which has a broader definition of deaths due to Covid-19, reported more than 350,000 deaths. New contaminations also continue to climb. This Sunday, they reached 25,769, a level that had not been reached since July 16. Cases are mainly on the rise in Moscow (4,294) and St. Petersburg (2,463).

Since mid-June, Russia has been hit hard by the Delta variant of the virus, which is more contagious. The epidemic is reinforced by a laborious vaccination campaign, the refusal of the authorities to introduce stricter health measures, and the low respect for the wearing of masks among the population. According to figures from the specialist site Gogov, only 29.1% of Russians are currently fully vaccinated, while there are several national vaccines.