Russia Records Highest Single-Day Virus Deaths Since March 23

Russia registered a highest single-day spike in COVID-19 related deaths since March 23, as the number of cases continues to grow in the country, health authorities said on Thursday.

According to Russia's emergency task force, 14,057 new coronavirus cases were reported over the last 24 hours, bringing the overall count to 5.26 million.

The growth in new infections resulted in a higher number of fatalities. Some 416 people died of COVID-19 over the past day, pushing the country's death toll to 127,992.

Some 11,205 more people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 4.83 million.

At least 296,350 people are currently under treatment in Russia.

On Wednesday, in several Russian regions, including Moscow and Moscow Oblast, authorities ordered mandatory vaccination for employees of the service industry, introducing penalties for non-compliance with the requirement.

Several universities are considering to ban unvaccinated students from attending full-time education.

Some regions encourage people to get vaccinated with additional holidays and other bonuses.

Although Russia was the first country in the world to register a coronavirus vaccine -- Sputnik V -- it lags behind in the rate of vaccinated people, with slightly over 10% of the population having gotten a shot.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.83 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 177 million cases reported worldwide, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The US, India and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries. -