COVID-19 deaths in Russia hit record for 2nd straight day

By DARIA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Coronavirus deaths in Russia have hit record highs for the second straight day. Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported Thursday that 1,251 people died of COVID-19 since the day before. The previous record of 1,247 deaths was recorded Wednesday. New daily cases appeared to be taking a downward trend but still remained higher than during previous waves of the pandemic. The task force reported 37,374 new confirmed cases on Thursday. Until this week, Russian authorities had recorded higher daily case numbers since late October. Health experts have blamed the latest surge in infections and deaths on low vaccination rates and lax public attitudes toward taking precautions. Less than 40% of Russia’s population is fully vaccinated.