MOSCOW, Aug 15 — Russia reported 21,624 new Covid-19 cases today, including 1,954 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 6,600,836.

The government coronavirus task force said 816 people had died of coronavirus-related causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 170,499.

On Saturday, Russia’s daily Covid-19 deaths hit a new record of 819, a day after Moscow’s health department reported the highest number of monthly deaths in the city since the start of the pandemic.

Russia’s daily coronavirus deaths were on the rise after infections peaked in July. Authorities blame the infectious Delta variant and a slow vaccination rate. — Reuters