Daily COVID-19 death toll surpasses 800 in Russia amid sharp surge

For the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, on Thursday, 12 August 2021, Russia recorded more than 800 coronavirus deaths, breaking four previous records. According to Russia's Covid-19 task group, 808 people succumbed to the virus on Thursday. On four distinct days in mid-July and early August, including Wednesday, 799 people died as a result of the pandemic. The country's total death toll of 168,049 is the world's sixth-highest, but analysts believe the true figure is much higher. 

Russia has 6.5 million verified COVID-19 cases, ranks fourth in the world

According to The Moscow Times' study, Russia's excess mortality toll since the start of the pandemic has risen to almost 531,000 as of June, the most recent month for which data is available. In both absolute and adjusted for population size terms, this is one of the highest figures in the world. Last month, Russia had an outbreak of infections that officials blamed on the emergence of the Delta variant. The number of new confirmed cases increased from roughly 9,000 per day in early June to around 25,000 per day in mid-July. The daily case count has dropped significantly this week to over 21,000 confirmed cases, but the daily death toll has remained high. On Thursday, the COVID-19 task group reported 21,932 new COVID-19 cases, with Delta variant-driven cases stabilising in mid-July. With more than 6.5 million verified COVID-19 cases, Russia ranks fourth in the world. 

Vaccination uptake in Russia is much lower than in western countries

Despite supplying four locally produced vaccines at no cost, the country has struggled with a stalling vaccination programme. Now, officials are striving to increase vaccination uptake in Russia, which is significantly much lower than in many Western countries. As of last Friday, 39 million Russians, or 26.7 per cent of the country's 146 million people, had received at least one dose of the vaccine, with over 30 million, or 20 per cent, having been fully vaccinated.

Over 6.5 million verified coronavirus cases and 168,049 deaths have been documented by Russia's state coronavirus task force during the pandemic. However, records from Russia's state statistical organisation Rosstat, which look back at coronavirus-related mortality, suggest a far larger total.

(Inputs from AP News)

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