On Saturday, Russia reported 697 deaths from Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours. For the fifth day in a row, the country set a new record by battling a growing Delta strain.
There were also 24,439 new cases of coronavirus infection, the highest since mid-January, when Russia emerged from the second wave of the pandemic.
There were 116 deaths in Moscow, close to the city’s pandemic record earlier this week.
The coronavirus outbreak in Russia has been intensifying since mid-June amid the reluctance of many to be vaccinated and suspicion of a domestic vaccine.
So far, only 16 percent of Russia’s 146 million people have been vaccinated.
On Thursday, Moscow began offering third doses to those who received a second more than six months ago to boost their protection against new strains.
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called on Russians to “listen to experts” and not to rumors about the virus and vaccines, although he also said he was against making vaccinations mandatory across the country.
The government also ruled out nationwide isolation, although it acknowledged that it would not meet its 60 percent vaccination target by August.
According to official data, 137,262 people out of 5.5 million have died in Russia to date.