Moscow coronavirus cases rise again: officials

Moscow is seeing a new increase in coronavirus cases, the mayor’s office announced on Wednesday, as Russian authorities struggle to convince a vaccine-sceptic population to get innoculated.

According to the latest official figures, Russia has recorded more than seven million cases and 200,625 deaths, the highest death toll in Europe.

“Over the past few days, we’ve registered an increase in coronavirus cases in Moscow,” deputy Moscow mayor Anastasia Rakova told reporters.

Compared to last week, the number of cases has grown 24 percent, while the number of hospitalisations has increased 15 percent, Rakova said.

She chalked up the growing number of coronavirus cases to a seasonal spike in respiratory infections and increased contacts between people following the end of the summer vacation season.

Rakova also said that the Delta variant now accounted for all coronavirus cases.

This past summer Russia had been hit by a new coronavirus wave driven by the highly contagious Delta variant exacerbated by a slow vaccination drive despite easy access to home-grown vaccines.

According to government figures, between September 16 and September 20, the number of daily coronavirus cases in Moscow hovered around 2,500.

On Wednesday, city officials reported 1,991 new coronavirus cases in the Russian capital.

Some independent experts say authorities have downplayed the number of fatalities across the country.

Under a broader definition for deaths linked to the coronavirus, statistics agency Rosstat reported in late August that Russia had seen more than 350,000 fatalities.

According to the Gogov website, which tallies COVID data from the regions, only 28 percent of the Russian population has been fully vaccinated.

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