Russia’s infections, deaths soar to another record

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Coronavirus infections and deaths in Russia have climbed to another pandemic record, putting a growing strain on the country’s health care system. The government coronavirus task force on Friday reported 37,141 new infections and 1,064 deaths in the past 24 hours. That brought Russia’s death toll to 228,453, Europe’s highest by far. Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded to the worsening situation by ordering Russians to stay off work from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7. Russian authorities expect the order to help limit the spread of the virus by keeping them out of offices and off public transportation, where mask mandates have been widely ignored. The government also urged local authorities to tighten their own restrictions during the period.