Moscow records pandemic high for COVID cases for second day running
21 June, 2021
Russia's capital Moscow on Saturday reported a pandemic high for new coronavirus cases for the second straight day, while Saint Petersburg introduced fresh restrictions before its Euro 2020 matches.
Moscow's hospitals were flooded with new patients due to the Delta variant, registering 9,120 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours, according to government figures. That managed to get another consecutive high, topping the previous day's total of 9,056 cases.
Those figures have ballooned from just 3,000 daily fourteen days ago, with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin saying the highly infectious Delta variant first discovered in India represented nearly 90 percent of new cases.
In the united states, officials recorded 17,906 cases and 466 deaths over a day -- 76 of these in Moscow -- the worst nationwide figures since March 13.
The brand new wave of infections came as Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg, the country's worst COVID hotspot after Moscow, is slated to host several Euro 2020 matches -- including a quarterfinal on July 2. They are expected to draw thousands of European football fans.
Officials are actually rushing to reintroduce pandemic restrictions and roll out new beds focused on coronavirus patients.
On Saturday, Saint Petersburg announced it could restrict access to its main Euro 2020 fan zone on Konyushenaya Square to 3,000 people, down from 5,000, having earlier banned food sales in the fan zones.
Measures have already been more drastic in Moscow, where Sobyanin on Friday turn off the city's fan zone, banned gatherings of more than 1,000, suspended all mass entertainment events and closed dance halls.
Moscow mayor Sobyanin extended closures announced last weekend of food halls in public areas spaces like malls, along with overnight shuttering of bars and restaurants.
The city has also ordered mandatory vaccination for residents working in the service industry, saying some 60 percent would have to be fully inoculated by August 15.
Saint Petersburg has announced it'll make an effort to vaccinate 65 percent of its civil servants by August 15.
Although free jabs have already been open to Russians since December, just 19.5 million out of a population of some 146 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the Gogov website which tallies Covid figures from the regions and the media.
In Moscow, only one 1.5 million of the capital's roughly 12 million persons have been fully vaccinated.
A recent independent survey found that 60 percent of Russians usually do not intend to be vaccinated.
Russia is probably the countries hit hardest by the pandemic, with the sixth-highest number of cases in the world, according to an AFP tally predicated on official figures.
It overtook Britain on Thursday as the European country having suffered the most Covid deaths, reaching 128,911 by Saturday. Kremlin critics argue the real figure is far higher because of undercounting by authorities.
Source: japantoday.com