Russia hits another record number of daily coronavirus deaths

On Tuesday, October 19, Russia recorded yet another daily record of coronavirus deaths, reporting 1,015 fatalities in the past 24 hours. According to official statistics, the country has seen a total of 225,325 deaths from COVID-19.

Also on Tuesday morning, Russia recorded 33,740 new coronavirus cases. Russia’s total number of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic has now exceeded 8 million.

More than 7 million people have recovered from the virus, including 23,426 patients who were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours.

Russia has seen a sharp increase in coronavirus cases since the beginning of autumn. According to official statistics, as of October 15, nearly 47.6 million people in Russia are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the government is partially responsible for the country’s low vaccination rate:

“You know, there is a tradition of blaming the government for everything. And, of course, the government always feels and knows its share of the responsibility. Of course, not everything that needed to be done was done in terms of information explaining the lack of alternatives and the importance of vaccination. But at the same time, a more responsible position is required of all the citizens of our country.”

The Kremlin spokesman added that the government has provided all the necessary conditions for mass vaccination and “coped with this task brilliantly.”