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Today's Paper | May 21, 2026

Published 02 Jul, 2021 08:15pm

No lockdown plans in Russia as coronavirus deaths hit new record

Russian authorities have reported a record-breaking 679 new coronavirus deaths, a fourth day in a row with the highest daily death toll in the pandemic, AP reports.

The previous record, of 672 deaths, was registered on Thursday. Russia has struggled to cope with a surge in infections and deaths in recent weeks that comes amid slow vaccination rates.

Yet the authorities are not discussing a lockdown, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “No one wants any lockdowns,” Peskov told reporters during a daily conference call, admitting that the situation with the coronavirus in a number of Russian regions is “tense.”

“In order for it to continue not being discussed, we all need to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

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