Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has announced a 'non-working' week in the Russian capital as cases in the city hit a six-month high amid a sluggish vaccination campaign, AFP reports.

“During the past week the situation with the spread of the coronavirus infections has sharply deteriorated,” Sobyanin said as the city registered 6,701 daily infections, the highest number since December last year.

Sobyanin added that “thousands” of hospital beds have been repurposed for coronavirus patients. “We cannot not react to such a situation,” he said.

“To stop the growth of infections and to save people's lives, today I signed a decree providing for non-working days between June 15-19,” Sobyanin said.