In Russia, 83% of COVID hospital beds are filled amid surge

MOSCOW (AP) — Nearly 83% of hospital beds designated for COVID-19 patients are filled, Russian authorities said Wednesday, as daily tallies of new infections and deaths remain at all-time highs.

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told a government meeting Wednesday that 82.8% of 301,500 hospital beds reserved for coronavirus patients were filled as of Tuesday morning.

“So far we can't confidently say that the situation has stabilized and the spread of infection has declined," Golikova, who runs the country's state coronavirus task force, told a government meeting Wednesday.

The task force registered yet another record for coronavirus deaths Wednesday — 1,239, up from Tuesday's record of 1,211. Officials also reported 38,058 new infections. Around 40,000 cases and over 1,100 deaths have been registered every day since late October.

Russia’s autumn surge in infections and deaths comes amid low vaccination rates, lax public attitudes toward taking precautions and the government’s reluctance to toughen restrictions.

Less than 40% of Russia’s nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated, even though Russia approved a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine months before most countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered many Russians last month to stay off work between Oct. 30 and Nov. 7. He authorized regional governments to extend the number of non-working days if necessary, but only five Russian regions have done so.

Other regions have restricted access to restaurants, theaters and other public places only to those who have been fully vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 within the last six months or tested negative in the previous 72 hours.

It is yet to be seen whether the non-working period is paying off, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said...