Russia's virus death toll passes 63,000

By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) – Russia reported 566 more coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, up from 531 the previous day.

The death toll in the country now stands at 63,370, according to the COVID-19 task force.

Some 22,850 more virus cases were detected over the past 24 hours, taking the overall count past 3.47 million.

Recoveries increased by 28,658 to reach reached 2.85 million, latest data showed.

On Tuesday, Russia extended until Feb. 1 restrictions on travel to and from the UK, where a new and more contagious coronavirus variant has caused a massive surge in infections over recent days.

Russia approved its locally produced Sputnik V vaccine late last month and has inoculated over 800,000 people as part of its ongoing immunization drive.