Russia's daily virus death toll hits record high
Number of new infections just short of country's highest mark, latest data shows
MOSCOW
Russia’s coronavirus fatalities hit a new single-day record on Friday.
The virus claimed 613 lives over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 45,893, Russia’s emergency task force said in its daily report.
A total of 28,585 new cases – a figure just shy of the country’s highest mark – took the overall count past 2.59 million, the fourth-highest tally in the world, behind the US, India, and Brazil.
The number of active cases stands at 491,978, according to latest data.
Recoveries grew by 26,171 over the past day to reach 2.05 million, bringing the overall rate to 79.3%.
A mass vaccination campaign started in Russia this week and the country has seen a slight slowdown in virus transmission over the past few days.
However, experts say the daily number of cases has to be brought down to between 24,000 and 27,000 if Russia is to overcome the current peak and see a stable decline.
