A medical staff member leans on a door while a patient with COVID-19 gets through a Magnetic resonance imaging system at an ICU of an hospital in Krasnodar, southern Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia has confirmed 11,404,617 cases of coronavirus and 328,770 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. Russia's total excess fatality count since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is at least 929,000. Under half the population is fully vaccinated. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
The Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) - The daily count of new coronavirus infections in Russia spiked above 110,000 on Saturday as the highly contagious omicron variant races through the vast country.
The state coronavirus task force reported 113,122 new infections over the past 24 hours - an all-time high and a sevenfold increase from early in the month, when daily case counts were about 15,000. The task force said 668 people died of COVID-19 in the past day, bring Russia's total fatality count for the pandemic to 330,111, by far the deadliest toll in Europe.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that 'œit is obvious that this number is higher and possibly much higher,'ť because 'œmany people don't get tested'ť or have no symptoms.
The Kremlin spokesman also admitted that a lot of people in the presidential administration have gotten infected with the virus. 'œThe vast majority continue to work from home after having isolated themselves,'ť Peskov said. 'œThis explosive contagiousness of the omicron, it demonstrates itself in full.'ť
Despite the surging infections, authorities have avoided imposing any major restrictions to stem the surge, saying the health system has been coping with the influx of patients.
Earlier this month, parliament indefinitely postponed introducing restrictions on the unvaccinated that would have proven unpopular among vaccine-hesitant Russians. And this week health officials cut the required isolation period for those who came in contact with COVID-19 patients from 14 days to seven without offering any explanation for the move.
Russia has had only one national lockdown, in 2020, although many Russians were ordered to stay off work for a week last October amid a jump in reported cases and deaths.
Russia's state statistics agency, which uses broader counting criteria than the task force, puts the country's pandemic death toll much higher, saying the number of virus-linked deaths between April 2020 and October 2021 was over 625,000.
Just about half of Russia's 146 million people have been fully vaccinated, even though Russia boasted about being the first country in the world to approve and roll out a domestically developed coronavirus vaccine.
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Follow all of AP's pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.
Medical staff members transfer a patient with COVID-19 into a Magnetic resonance imaging system at an ICU of an hospital in Krasnodar, southern Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia has confirmed 11,404,617 cases of coronavirus and 328,770 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. Russia's total excess fatality count since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is at least 929,000. Under half the population is fully vaccinated. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
The Associated Press
A medical staff member tends to a patient with COVID-19 at an ICU of an hospital in Krasnodar, southern Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia has confirmed 11,404,617 cases of coronavirus and 328,770 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. Russia's total excess fatality count since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is at least 929,000. Under half the population is fully vaccinated. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
The Associated Press
Medical workers load a body into a vehicle outside a COVID-19 hospital in Kommunarka, near Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia's state coronavirus task force has reported more than 11.3 million confirmed cases and over 328 thousands deaths, by far the largest death toll in Europe. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
The Associated Press
A medical worker wearing protective gear walks outside a COVID-19 hospital in Kommunarka, outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia's state coronavirus task force has reported more than 11.3 million confirmed cases and over 328 thousands deaths, by far the largest death toll in Europe. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
The Associated Press
Medical workers carry a body to a van outside a COVID-19 hospital in Kommunarka, outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia's state coronavirus task force has reported more than 11.3 million confirmed cases and over 328 thousands deaths, by far the largest death toll in Europe. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
The Associated Press
An ambulance approaches a COVID-19 hospital in Kommunarka, outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia's state coronavirus task force has reported more than 11.3 million confirmed cases and over 328 thousands deaths, by far the largest death toll in Europe. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
The Associated Press
A medical worker wearing protective gear, right, moves a coronavirus patient breathing on a mechanical ventilator at a COVID-19 hospital in Kommunarka, outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
The Associated Press
A medical staff member reads a paper as he prepares to treat a patient with COVID-19 at an ICU of an hospital in Krasnodar, southern Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia has confirmed 11,404,617 cases of coronavirus and 328,770 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. Russia's total excess fatality count since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is at least 929,000. Under half the population is fully vaccinated. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
The Associated Press
A medical staff member prepares to treat a patient with COVID-19 at an ICU of a hospital in Krasnodar, southern Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia has confirmed 11,404,617 cases of coronavirus and 328,770 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. Russia's total excess fatality count since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is at least 929,000. Under half the population is fully vaccinated. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
The Associated Press
A medical staff member stands next to a patient with COVID-19 at an ICU of an hospital in Krasnodar, southern Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia has confirmed 11,404,617 cases of coronavirus and 328,770 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. Russia's total excess fatality count since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is at least 929,000. Under half the population is fully vaccinated. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
The Associated Press
Medical staff members transfer a patient with COVID-19 at an ICU of a hospital in Krasnodar, southern Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia has confirmed 11,404,617 cases of coronavirus and 328,770 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center. Russia's total excess fatality count since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is at least 929,000. Under half the population is fully vaccinated. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
The Associated Press
A teenager receives a dose of Russia's Sputnik M (Gam-COVID-Vac-M) COVID-19 vaccine in Krasnodar, Russia, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. This week, Russia started vaccinating children aged 12-17 with a domestically developed shot, Spuntik M - a version of the Sputnik V vaccine that contains a smaller dose - amid reports of a sharp spike of COVID-19 infections and hospitalization in children. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
The Associated Press
A teenager receives a dose of Russia's Sputnik M (Gam-COVID-Vac-M) COVID-19 vaccine in Krasnodar, Russia, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. This week, Russia started vaccinating children aged 12-17 with a domestically developed shot, Spuntik M - a version of the Sputnik V vaccine that contains a smaller dose - amid reports of a sharp spike of COVID-19 infections and hospitalization in children. (AP Photo/Vitaliy Timkiv)
The Associated Press
An ambulance moves towards a COVID-19 hospital in Kommunarka, outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Russia's state coronavirus task force has reported more than 11.3 million confirmed cases and over 328 thousands deaths, by far the largest death toll in Europe. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
The Associated Press