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HEALTH-VIRUS-RUSSIA-MOSCOW
Moscow sees steep spike in coronavirus infections
MOSCOW, April 29, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Russian health officials reported a 75-percent surge in daily coronavirus cases Thursday in Moscow, where authorities have hesitated to re-impose strict measures to contain the outbreak.
The Russian capital has been the epicentre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, with cases in Moscow growing by around 2,000 per day recently.
On Thursday, health officials reported 3,215 new cases in Moscow, compared to 1,840 the previous day.
The steep jump comes as officials push to boost Russia’s lagging vaccination drive, while maintaining that the worst of the country’s outbreak has passed.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin warned last week of the danger of the rising number of cases in Moscow, but has so far withheld from introducing new restrictions.
Life in Moscow has all but returned to normal since January, when officials ended restrictions on in-office workers and allowed bars and restaurants to work through the night.
Russia has avoided re-imposing a second lockdown like those seen across Europe to buttress a struggling economy.
Authorities have banked on the country’s three homegrown vaccines — Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona and CoviVac — to curtail the pandemic, but the country’s jab drive is moving at a slow clip.
Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova on Tuesday said that 7.7 million Russians have been fully vaccinated, while 12.1 million have received their first dose in the country of 144 million people.
Polls show many Russians are sceptical of coronavirus vaccines.
To encourage vulnerable seniors in Moscow to get vaccinated, Sobyanin has offered the over-60s gift cards of 1,000 rubles ($13) that they can spend at shops in the Russian capital if they get a jab.
President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will be able to lift its remaining virus restrictions — which include closed borders — when around 70 percent of the country’s adult population is vaccinated.
Last week he said he hopes that will happen by autumn and appealed for all Russians to get a vaccine.
Russia has recorded the fifth-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world with a total of nearly 4.8 million infections and 110,000 deaths, according to a tally by health officials.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1722 hrs