Russia reported a record high of 507 new coronavirus-related deaths Wednesday as the Kremlin acknowledges the heavy strain placed on the country’s healthcare system but continues to rule out a new nationwide lockdown.
The country's total number of fatalities now stands at 37,538, a figure widely believed to be undercounted due to tallying methods. An analysis of official statistics on fatalities published earlier this month revealed almost 120,000 excess deaths in Russia since the start of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, health authorities recorded 23,675 new infections in all 85 Russian regions, with the overall virus caseload totaling 2,162,503.
Over one-fifth of the newly infected did not exhibit symptoms.
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the Moscow region recorded over 1,000 cases with 1,005 new coronavirus infections.
Moscow remains the epicenter of Russia’s Covid-19 outbreak with 4,685 new cases, followed by St. Petersburg with its own record of 3,421 new infections. St. Petersburg became Russia’s second most-affected region with 107,464 cases, overtaking the Moscow region's 105,748.
Authorities say Russia’s coronavirus infections have nearly tripled from 6.1 to 17.1 per 100,000 people. The total caseload surpassed 2 million last week with record numbers of infections and deaths during the second wave.
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