Russian government officials Tuesday recommended closing workplaces after the nation again set a daily record for COVID-19 deaths and nearly 34,000 new infections.
Russia’s government coronavirus task force reported 1,015 deaths over the past 24 hours, the highest number since the pandemic began. That brought the total death toll to 225,325 — by far the highest in Europe. It also registered 33,740 new infections in the past day.
Speaking Tuesday at a government coronavirus meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova proposed closing workplaces from October 30 to November 7. She proposed that those days be deemed non-working days to combat rising coronavirus infections.
Russia took similar steps early the pandemic, notably locking down for about a month, when COVID-19 first struck in March of last year. But the Kremlin has been resisting a new nationwide lockdown because the first one dealt a heavy blow to the economy and hurt President Vladimir Putin's popularity.
Golikova recommends that all Russian regions immediately make decisions about whether unvaccinated pensioners should be told to self-isolate at home and go out only for emergencies.
She also suggested incentives to get people vaccinated, such as special codes for those who have received shots, allowing them access to public events or places.
Some in formation for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
