Russia has recorded its highest daily death toll since the outbreak of the pandemic as the country grapples with a spike in infections spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant.

An official government tally reported 652 coronavirus fatalities over the past 24 hours, topping a record that was set in December last year.

A record-high number of daily deaths — 119 — was also reported in Russia's second city Saint Petersburg that is due to host a Euro 2020 quarterfinal on Friday.

Nationwide infections grew by 20,616, bringing Russia's caseload to nearly 5.5 million — the fifth highest worldwide, according to an AFP tally.