Russia reports record-high COVID-related deaths in last 24 hours
Russia on Friday recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll for a second day running, with 815 fatalities reported over the past 24 hours. The new figures bring Russia's total fatalities from Covid-19 to 168,864 -- the highest toll in Europe.
- World
- Reuters
- Published Date: 11:52 | 13 August 2021
- Modified Date: 12:31 | 13 August 2021
Russia reported a record high 815 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours on Friday, but Moscow's mayor said hospitalisations from the disease in the capital had halved over the past six weeks.
Russia's daily reported COVID-19 infections have gradually dipped from a peak in July that authorities blamed on the infectious Delta variant and a slow vaccination rate. They stood at 22,277 on Friday, including 2,529 in Moscow.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said daily hospitalisations had halved in the city compared with late June and hospital bed occupancy was at its lowest since April.
As a result, he said in his blog, the city would no longer require 30% of staff at all businesses to work from home, although that was still encouraged.
The total number of cases recorded in Russia stood at 6,557,068 as of Friday, with 168,864 deaths recorded within a population of more than 144 million.