Russia on Saturday reported 697 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest number of confirmed cases in a single day since the pandemic began and set a record for the fifth day in a row.
The government coronavirus taskforce confirmed 24,439 new coronavirus cases across the country, the most reported since January. Officials have blamed the infectious delta variant and slow demand for vaccination.
Moscow, Russia’s worst-hit region of the pandemic, had 7,446 of Saturday’s new cases. But its mayor told residents that vaccination rates are rising and more than 2.7 million people have received at least one vaccine dose.
Fearing a new wave of infections that began last month, officials took a series of measures to force or encourage people to get vaccinated.
Vaccines against COVID-19 are widely available in Russia, but surveys show that many people do not want to take them.