Russia in grips of third COVID wave as Delta variant takes hold | DW News

Russia is in the grip of a third wave of the coronavirus that is threatening to overwhelm the country’s health service. The capital, Moscow, recorded 144 COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours on Sunday – that’s the highest rate since the beginning of the pandemic. And an average 20,000 new infections are being reported across the country each day. Authorities are imposing strict new measures to counter the surge. St. Petersburg’s city beach couldn’t be busier. With temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, thousands of Russians have come to the Gulf of Finland to escape the hot weather - and social distancing. Russia is in the middle of its third coronavirus wave - thanks to the rapidly spreading Delta variant. The authorities are sounding the alarm: The new mutation accounts for almost 90 percent of new cases. Officials are talking about more than 20,000 new infections every day, most of them in Moscow. To get the situation under control, the Russian capital has reopened field hospitals and bui