Russia hits record number of daily COVID-19 deaths - Los Angeles Times
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Russia hits record number of daily COVID-19 deaths

An older man wearing a face mask and gloves to protect against the coronavirus rides a subway car in Moscow.
An older man wearing a face mask and gloves to protect against the coronavirus rides a subway car Sept. 12 in Moscow.
(Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP)
Associated Press
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MOSCOW —  Russia on Sunday reported a record daily death toll from COVID-19, the fifth time in a week that deaths have hit a new high.

The national coronavirus task force said 890 deaths were recorded over the past day, exceeding the 887 reported on Friday. The task force also said the number of new infections in the past day was the second-highest of the year at 25,769.

Overall, Russia, a nation of 146 million people, has Europe’s highest death toll from the pandemic, nearly 210,000 people.

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Yet despite the country’s persistent rise in daily deaths and new cases, Russian officials say there are no plans to impose a lockdown. Mask-wearing regulations are in place but are loosely enforced.

Moscow briefly tried during the summer to require proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test for indoor customers at restaurants and bars, but abandoned the program after business owners complained of reduced revenues.

Huntington Beach, CA - October 03: A ball floats amidst oil that formed into globules, foam and sheen that flowed in from high tide and was held back by a sand berm and boom in a trapped pool as a major oil spill washes ashore on the border of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach at the Santa Ana River Jetties Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. Crews raced Sunday morning to contain the damage from a major oil spill off the Orange County coast that left crude spoiling beaches, killing fish and birds and threatening local wetlands. The oil slick is believed to have originated from a pipeline leak, pouring 126,000 gallons into the coastal waters and seeping into the Talbert Marsh as lifeguards deployed floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further incursion, said Jennifer Carey, Huntington Beach city spokesperson. At sunrise Sunday, oil was on the sand in some parts of Huntington Beach with slicks visible in the ocean as well. "We classify this as a major spill, and it is a high priority to us to mitigate any environmental concerns," Carey said. "It's all hands on deck." (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

California

What caused the massive oil spill off Huntington Beach? Here is what we know

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said a broken pipeline connected to an offshore oil platform called Elly caused the spill.

Oct. 3, 2021

Even though Russia boasted of creating the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, only 32.5% of its people have gotten at least one vaccine shot and only 28% are fully vaccinated. Critics have principally blamed a botched vaccine rollout and mixed messages the authorities have been sending about the outbreak.

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In addition, coronavirus antibody tests are popular in Russia and some observers suggest this contributes to the low vaccination numbers.

Western health experts say the antibody tests are unreliable either for diagnosing the virus or assessing immunity to it. The antibodies that these tests look for can only serve as evidence of a past infection. Scientists say it’s still unclear what level of antibodies indicates that a person has protection from the virus and for how long.

President Vladimir Putin has observed periods of self-isolation since mid-September after dozens of people in the Kremlin were found to be infected. Putin met with Turkey’s leader last week after coming out of his latest isolation period.

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