Russia has posted a new daily record for COVID-19 deaths as health officials scramble to meet the demand for hospital beds to treat patients during the current wave of infections.
The anti-coronavirus crisis center said on November 9 that 1,211 deaths were recorded over the previous 24 hours, with 39,610 new cases being detected.
With records for cases and deaths being set on almost a daily basis, hospitals have been filling up with patients, putting a strain on the country's health-care system.
Vladimir Chulanov, an infectious-disease specialist who often works with the Russian Ministry of Health, noted on November 9 that some 300,000 beds had been deployed for use by COVID-19 patients, some 30,000 more than at any point during the pandemic. He added that more than 1 million people were being treated on an outpatient basis.
The country recently introduced a paid holiday from October 30 to November 7 in an effort to lessen workers' exposure to COVID-19. Stay-at-home orders were issued for older adults and businesses are required to have 30 percent of their staffs work from home.
Russia has several domestically produced vaccines, but only about one-third of the population is vaccinated.
The country has recorded more than 8.87 million coronavirus infections and just under 250,000 related deaths.
But critics and some health experts have accused officials of skewing the numbers to cover up a much higher death count, making the situation in hospitals even more precarious, they say.
