Russia sees slight drop in virus cases after 11 days

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia on Monday registered 13,721 new coronavirus cases -- the first drop in 11 days, the country's coronavirus emergency task force said.

On Sunday, daily infections hit 14,723, the highest since Feb. 13,

Despite the drop in cases, the overall tally still grew by 0.26% to surpass 5.22 million. So far, 4.8 million people have recovered, 126,801 died and 285,960 people are currently under treatment.

The worst situation is currently in the capital Moscow which accounts for almost 50% of all new cases. A total of 6,590 people were infected in Moscow over the last 24 hours, while 2,815 recovered and 72 died.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced a lockdown until June 19 to stem the spread of the virus.

During this period, children's playrooms are temporarily suspended, catering and entertainment venues are prohibited from serving visitors at night (from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.), and parks are open only for walks.

Moscow Oblast, closely connected with the capital, toughened restrictive measures as well.

Moscow Oblast Governor Andrey Vorobyov issued a decree obliging employers and organizations to prevent employees or customers from entering the premises without a protective mask. For those who have been vaccinated, the rule does not apply.

Although Russia was the first country in the world to register a coronavirus vaccine -- Sputnik V -- it lags in the rate of vaccinated people, with only 9.75% of the population having gotten a shot against COVID-19.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.79 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 175.72 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US Johns Hopkins University.

The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries.