Putin Orders Week-Long Paid Holiday as Covid Cases Soar in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a nationwide week-long paid holiday to curb Covid infections.

At a televised meeting with officials, Putin said he supported the Cabinet's proposal to "declare non-working days between October 30 and November 7 throughout the country" and urged Russians to "show responsibility" and get Covid jabs.

Moreover, the president noted that in some regions where the situation is the most threatening, the non-working period could start as early as Saturday.

Russia reported on Wednesday 1,028 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours which is the highest number since the start of the pandemic, according to the government task force. That brought the country's total death toll to 226,353 which is by far the highest in Europe.

In some regions, mounting infections forced authorities to suspend medical assistance to the population as health care facilities were forced to focus on treating coronavirus patients.

Authorities mentioned that around 45 million Russians, or 32% of the country’s nearly 146 million people, are fully vaccinated.