The Russian government recorded Thursday, June 30, 672 deaths due to Covid-19, a new peak since the start of the epidemic which is experiencing an outbreak in Russia with the rise of the Delta variant.
This is a record for the third consecutive day.
In addition, the country recorded 21,042 new infections.
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The capital Moscow, the main focus of the epidemic in Russia, and St. Petersburg for their part recorded 108 and 115 new deaths respectively. Levels still close to their own records set at the start of the week. The epidemic has resumed since mid-June in the country, boosted by a sluggish vaccination campaign and the appearance of the Delta variant, which is much more contagious.
The vaccine campaign, launched in December with a lot of propaganda around Sputnik V, Moscow's flagship injection, has so far convinced only 23 of 146 million Russians, or 15% of the population, against a background of widespread mistrust.
Russian President Vladimir Putin opposed a national vaccine requirement on Wednesday, June 30, but he urged Russians to get immunized and not give in to rumors about vaccines.
The death toll recorded by the government is now 135,886, making Russia the European country most bereaved by the Covid-19.
The statistics agency Rosstat, which has a broader definition of deaths linked to the coronavirus, had however recorded 270,000 deaths at the end of April.
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The city of Moscow, followed by fifteen regions, has introduced in recent weeks measures such as the return of teleworking for some of the employees, compulsory vaccination in personal services or the creation of a health pass for go to the restaurant.