In the past 24 hours, 1,002 people have died from Covid-19. The previous record was reported on Friday, with 999 Covid-related deaths over a 24-hour period.
The country also reported a new all-time high for daily coronavirus cases for the third day in a row. Authorities reported on Saturday that 33,208 new cases of Covid-19 had been diagnosed in the past day.
Despite the record numbers, lawmakers continue to reject the introduction of a nationwide lockdown. Russian Federation Council President Valentina Matvienko said the move was unreasonable.
“The situation is not easy. But there is no reason to introduce a federal lockdown,” Matvienko reportedly said, according to the state news agency TASS.
“You know that the number of infections is increasing in many regions and that medical specialists are working in difficult conditions. We are all well aware that vaccination can save us from the virus and from a severe course of the disease. It is necessary to step up the pace of vaccination, ”Putin said.
Not getting the Covid-19 vaccine is “really irresponsible,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. But as long as doctors cope with the flow of patients with Covid-19, no emergency measures will be taken, he added.
Peskov also said on Thursday that Putin would get a booster when medics deemed it necessary, according to TASS.
“Everything will depend on the recommendations of specialists. The president is very attentive to this. As soon as the specialists understand the need for revaccination, it will be done,” Peskov said, in response to a question.
The official death toll from Covid-19 in Russia now stands at 222,315 since the start of the pandemic, the highest number in Europe. The actual number would be much higher, however, in part because of the way Russia ranks coronavirus deaths.
The total number of Covid-19 cases identified in Russia has risen to 7,958,384 since the start of the pandemic.
Data from the Russian Coronavirus Task Force released on Saturday suggests that around 45% of the population could be immune to Covid-19 through vaccination or infection.
Some regions of Russia are introducing certain restrictions locally due to an increase in Covid-19 infections. Several regions have introduced QR codes allowing only vaccinated people and recovered patients to visit restaurants and public events.
Events with more than 3,000 participants are banned nationwide in connection with the pandemic, the head of Rospotrebnadzor’s health watchdog Anna Popova said on October 4, according to state media RIA Novosti. . For some regions, the restrictions are stricter depending on the severity of the coronavirus situation.
