Russia hits another record of daily coronavirus deaths
ABC News
Russia has registered another daily record of coronavirus deaths as rapidly surging contagion raises pressure on the country’s health care system
MOSCOW -- Russia registered another daily record of coronavirus deaths Tuesday as rapidly surging contagion raised pressure on the country's health care system.
The government task force reported 1,015 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. That brought the total death toll to 225,325 — by far the highest in Europe. It also registered 33,740 new infections over the past day.
The daily coronavirus mortality numbers have been surging for weeks and topped 1,000 for the first time over the weekend amid sluggish vaccination rates and the government's reluctance to toughen restrictions.
Russian authorities have tried to speed up the pace of vaccinations with lotteries, bonuses and other incentives, but widespread vaccine skepticism and conflicting signals from officials have hampered the efforts. The task force said Monday that about 45 million Russians, or 32% of the country’s nearly 146 million people, are fully vaccinated.
