Coronavirus | Russia reports record high number of daily COVID - 19 infections

A medical specialist takes care of a patient at the City Clinical Hospital Number 52, where people suffering from the coronavirus disease COVID - 19 are treated in Moscow, Russia October 21, 2021. REUTERS Maxim Shemetov Files Maxim Reuters

BUCHAREST MOSCOW, Oct 25 Reuters - Russia reported a record high number of daily COVID - 19 cases and some central European countries imposed fresh restrictions on Monday as a new wave of the pandemic gathered pace.

Authorities around the world have been sounding the alarm as infections surge, with governments in regions where vaccine uptake has been low forced to toughen up restrictions in a bid to stop the virus from raging out of control.

Russia reported 37,930 new COVID - 19 infections in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day case tally since the start of the pandemic. Frustrated by the slow take-up of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine by its own population, authorities are introducing stricter measures this week to try to curb the spread of the pandemic. Vladimir Putin declared last week that Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 would be paid non-working days.

Vaccine scepticism is high across central and eastern Europe and as a result the region has become a hotspot.

On Monday, stricter restrictions came into force in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, while stricter rules in Romania were expanded to more regions. In Bulgaria, police will start imposing fines on people who break restrictions from Monday.

In Romania, where a government official lamented a disaster situation on Saturday, the government made a night curfew mandatory and reintroduced health passes mandatory for entry to most public venues, while school children were sent on vacation for two weeks. The restrictions seem to be working, there are fewer people on the streets, said Gheorghe Ion, a Bucharest cab driver. I've been waiting here for an hour without an order. Poland's health minister stressed that the government would need to consider tighter restrictions if cases kept increasing, but warned that it was not planning a lockdown. While experts have said that a lack of confidence in public institutions caused by decades of Communist rule has fuelled vaccine scepticism in the region, there were signs that more people were responding to fears about the wave by getting a jab.

In the Czech Republic authorities said inoculations were on the rise last week, while in Romania the daily number of doses administered was the highest since late August.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned of the potential for huge numbers of deaths in Papua New Guinea unless international action was taken to help the island nation's struggling health service. According to Our World in Data figures, less than 1% of the population has been fully vaccinated, with the Red Cross blaming misinformation, public apprehension, and logistical challenges.

Urgent efforts and further support are needed in healthcare to prevent a massive loss of life in the coming days and weeks, Uvenama Rova, PNG Red Cross Secretary General, said.

Chinese health officials warned on Sunday that its latest cluster, caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant and involving many carriers who recently travelled across some provinces, was increasingly likely to expand further.

Beijing has closed entry of people from other cities with cases and banned indoor venues such as some chess and card parlours, even in districts without infections. Although the infection numbers are far smaller than many places outside China, authorities have adopted a zero tolerance strategy.

New Zealand has reported its second-highest daily COVID - 19 cases since the pandemic began, with 109 new locally acquired coronavirus cases reported on Monday, the bulk of them in its largest city, Auckland. Once lauded for its success in stamping out the virus, New Zealand has been struggling with an outbreak of the Delta variant centred in Auckland, despite the city remaining under strict lockdown for more than two months.

In Western Europe cases were also on the rise despite higher rates of vaccine uptake than in the continent's east.

Infections in the Netherlands have been rising for a month and reached their highest level since July on Sunday, after many social distancing measures were dropped in late September.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte is expected to update coronavirus policies by Nov. 5, but pressure is rising to come up with an earlier response to the recent numbers.