Russia reports sharp uptick in new COVID-19 cases

Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP

Russia reported 13,510 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the fifth day of a sharp rise that has taken the daily infection tally to a three-month high.

The announcement came a day after Moscow's mayor said he was expecting to see a peak in infections in the capital in June or July.

The new cases reported in the last 24 hours brought the national tally to 5,193,964.

The government's coronavirus task force said 399 more people had died, pushing the national death toll to 126,073.

The federal statistics agency has kept a separate tally and has said that Russia recorded around 270,000 deaths related to COVID-19 between April 2020 and April 2021.

CLOSURE ANNOUNCED

Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, on Saturday said June 15 to 19 would be non-working days and that all bars, restaurants and venues should close by 11 p.m. in the capital until June 20 amid the sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

"To stop the rising rate of sickness and to save lives, today I signed a decree providing for non-working days from 15 to 19 June 2021 with pay for employees," Sobyanin said on his official blog.

He said the decision would not affect organisations that maintain the city's infrastructure and the military.

VACCINATIONS ON TRACK

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that 18 million Russians had so far been vaccinated against COVID-19, the Interfax news agency reported.

The country has a population of some 144 million.

More from International news

News

  • H.H. Sheikh Hamdan approves Umm Suqeim Beach master plan

    His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai has approved a AED500 million development plan to transform Umm Suqeim Beach into a major new public waterfront destination.

  • UAE FM condemns Israel’s repeated violations of ceasefire in Gaza

    The UAE's Foreign Minister joined with the Foreign Ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, on Sunday, to strongly condemn Israel’s repeated violations of the ceasefire in Gaza which have resulted in the killing, and injuring of more than a thousand Palestinians.

  • UAE, World Food Programme sign deal to support Sudan aid efforts

    The United Arab Emirates has signed a cooperation agreement between the UAE Aid Agency and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support humanitarian response efforts in Sudan.