Coronavirus deaths in Russia surpass 900 a day for 1st time

Russia's daily toll of coronavirus deaths surpassed 900 for the first time of the pandemic Wednesday, a record that comes amid the country's low vaccination rate and the government's reluctance to impose tough restrictions to control new cases.

Russia's state coronavirus task force reported 929 new deaths on Wednesday, the fourth time this month that daily COVID-19 deaths reached record highs. The previous record, of 895 deaths, was registered Tuesday.

The task force also reported 25,133 new confirmed cases Wednesday.

The rise in infections and deaths began in late September. The Kremlin has blamed it too few Russians getting vaccinated. As of Tuesday, almost 33% of Russia's 146 million people had received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine, and 29% was fully vaccinated.

Despite the surge, government officials rejected the idea of imposing a lockdown and said regional authorities would take steps to stem the spread of the virus.

A number of Russian regions have limited attendance at large public events and restricted 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.

In all, Russia's coronavirus task force has reported over 7.6 million confirmed cases and more than 212,000 deaths. However, reports by Russian state statistical service Rosstat that tally coronavirus-linked deaths retroactively reveal much higher mortality numbers.

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