Russia reported on Sunday its highest daily number of new COVID-19 cases as the epidemic worsens in the country. The national coronavirus task force said on Sunday that 34,303 new infections were recorded in the previous day, compared with the 20,174 reported Sept. 19. They saw their highest daily death toll just Saturday, surpassing 1,000 deaths in 24 hours for the first time. The death toll reported on Sunday of 999 was barely different. While Russian authorities have tried to push vaccinations, under a third of the population is fully vaccinated against the virus. But the Kremlin has not resorted to a national lockdown in an effort to preserve the economy, delegating responsibility for coronavirus restrictions to local authorities. In many major cities, businesses remain open and daily life continues as normal. While the more developed and urbanized areas of the country are most heavily impacted by the epidemic, even the sparsely populated Siberian region of Sakha and Chukotka in the extreme northeast have high case rates. The country"s coronavirus task force has officially reported some 7.99 million confirmed cases and 223,312 deaths due to the virus. — Euronews