Russia sets another daily virus record amid omicron surge

By JIM HEINTZ
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — New coronavirus infections in Russia have reached an all-time high, the third consecutive daily record as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads through the country. The national coronavirus task force on Sunday reported 63,205 new infections in 24 hours — a spike of more than 25% since the record set on Friday. The task force reported 679 deaths, similar to other daily death counts in the past week. The omicron variant has been detected in 64 of the country’s 89 regions. Russia’s deputy prime minister says authorities expect it to become the dominant variant. Russia’s coronavirus task force has registered 326,112 deaths overall, which is by far Europe’s worst death toll.