Russia has recorded its record number of daily coronavirus cases, despite being in the midst of a weeklong holiday period declared by the government to combat the spread of COVID-19. According to figures published by the government on Saturday morning, 41,335 new cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the last 24 hours, a record since the beginning of the pandemic. The country has also recorded 1,888 deaths during the same period, a figure slightly down on Friday’s stats. Russia is Europe’s most heavily affected country, with more than 8.7 million cases since the start of the health crisis, and a death toll of nearly 450,000 by the end of September. President Vladimir Putin declared a holiday period from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 to curb infections. In Moscow, this meant schools, beauty salons, shops, gyms and other "non-essential" services were closed, a measure akin to a lockdown. The rapid spread of COVID in Russia has been facilitated by the low vaccination rate of the population against a backdrop of widespread mistrust, with only 33.8 percent of Russians fully immunized to date. The Russian region of Novgorod has already extended the holiday period for another week with cases continuing to rise there. Citizens will be asked to stay out of the office for seven more days from Nov. 8. The Novgorod regional authorities were the first to extend the measure on Monday. — Euronews