Coronavirus cases reach record in Russia

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 18 Oct 2021 by Alex Teddy

On October 17 Russia broke its own record for new diagnoses yet again. 34,000 new cases have been reported. There were almost 1,000 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours. There are only 20,000 beds left in hospitals. These will all soon be full.The Health Minister urged all retired physicians to get vaccinated. Russia has the highest per capita number of doctors in the world but the pandemic is stretching even Russia's huge medical profession.Russia is allowing flights to the Bahamas, Iran, Holland, Norway, Sweden and Thailand as of November 9. Some wonder whether that is wise in the circumstances.38 out of the 85 regions have vaccine mandates for particular types of people, such as those working in frontline public services. The federal government has refused to take sides on this issue. Some regions have introduced vaccine mandates. These include Moscow and St Petersburg. People need to be vaccinated in certain jobs or to enter places such as cinemas. No one is proposing a new lockdown. The pandemic is not causing much alarm or worry. The government complains about low vaccination rates.Russia has suffered almost 8 million coronavirus cases. There have been 230,000 deaths from it. But the excess deaths since March 2020 are 600,000.

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