Russia reports highest daily Covid-19 deaths in 2021

Moscow, Jun 26 (EFE).- Russia has recorded 619 coronavirus-related deaths over the past 24 hours, the highest in 2021, the Russian authorities announced on Saturday.

A total of 21,665 new infections have been registered, including 8,457 in Moscow, which has been the epicenter of the pandemic since March 2021.

The new cases and the death toll have been increasing since 8 June, with the total tally since the pandemic began standing at 5,430,753 infected and 132,683 dead, although independent sources say the actual figures are double or triple the official numbers.

 To curb the spike, Russian authorities decided to decrease in-office workers in Moscow by 30 percent from Monday, while the health ministry authorized vaccinating pregnant women.

Nearly 10,000 pregnant women have contracted Covid-19, including some severe cases, health minister Mikhail Murashko said.

Over 21 million Russians have received the first dose of the vaccine, far behind other countries as surveys show that a majority of Russians refuse to be inoculated. EFE

io/ta/lv