Coronavirus deaths in Russia surpass 900 a day for 1st time

By DARIA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s daily coronavirus death toll has surpassed 900 for the first time in the pandemic. The record reported Wednesday comes amid a low vaccination rate and the government’s reluctance to impose tough restrictions to control new cases. Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 929 new COVID-19 deaths and 25,133 new confirmed infections on Wednesday. The Kremlin has blamed the surge on too few Russians getting vaccinated. As of Tuesday, almost 33% of Russia’s 146 million people had received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine and 29% are fully vaccinated. Russian officials have rejected the idea of imposing a lockdown and say that regional authorities would take local steps to stem the spread of the virus.