Coronavirus deaths surpass 1, 000 for the first time in Russian history

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Coronavirus deaths surpass 1, 000 for the first time in Russian history

MOSCOW - Oct 16 Reuters - Russia reported a record 1,002 deaths from coronavirus on Saturday, the first time the daily number has exceeded 1,000 since the start of the pandemic.

New COVID 19 cases, confirmed in the past 24 hours, were at 33,208, setting a record for the fifth consecutive day, Russian coronavirus task force said.

Russian authorities blame a poor vaccination campaign for the rise of infections and deaths, forcing the health ministry this week to ask retired vaccinated medics to return to hospitals.

Russia estimates that 45% of its population may have an immunity to the novel coronavirus after receiving a vaccine or recovering from the illness, data released by the Coronavirus Task Force on Saturday showed. The figure is 61% in Moscow and is at 64% in the region surrounding capital.

Russia was quick to develop and launch its Sputnik V vaccine when the Coronavirus pandemic hit last year, but take-up has been slow with many Russians citing distrust of the authorities and fear of new medical products.

Only 48 million out of 144 million Russians are fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from the coronavirus task force, with 51 million having received one shot.

The latest coronavirus deaths brought the total total official national death toll to 222,315, with a total of 7,958, 384 cases.

The Rosstat statistic service, which keeps a separate count of coronavirus deaths, said this month that around 418,000 deaths between April 2020 and August 2021 were recorded.