In the past 24 hours, Russia has confirmed 24 072 cases of COVID-19 and 779 deaths due to a disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The total case count going up to 6 126 541 and 153 874 deaths, the anti-coronavirus crisis center informed.
- Starting Aug. 9, Russia plans to resume flights with Egypt's resort cities of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, the national coronavirus task force announced late Friday. Russia also plans to resume flights with Bahrain, the Dominican Republic and Moldova on that date.
- Russia's Labor Ministry and the consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor issued instructions Friday for employers to ensure 80% immunity among staff through vaccinations and recovery from Covid-19, allowing paid leave for vaccinated employees and suspension without pay for those who refuse to get vaccinated.
- Moscow’s 119 health clinics and 45 vaccination sites began offering Sputnik V and Sputnik Light booster vaccine shots against coronavirus Thursday, according to Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin kicked off the booster campaign on July 1, urging vaccinated residents to get a third shot six months later, as the country battles the highly contagious Delta variant.
- Starting July 19, Moscow restaurants will no longer require a QR code proving one's vaccination, immunity or negative test results to dine indoors.
- Most service sector businesses in Moscow met a Friday deadline to ensure 60% of their workforce received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the capital’s coronavirus taskforce said. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced he would give employers who fell short another week, until July 22, to meet the requirement.
- The Kremlin said that Moscow had no immediate plans to allow foreign coronavirus vaccines into Russia, despite the country's sluggish vaccination rates and rising death toll in a third wave of the pandemic.
- Russia resumed reciprocal flights with France and the Czech Republic from July 24, the country's coronavirus information headquarters announced Wednesday.
- Russia has overtaken France as having the world's fourth-highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, according to the World Health Organization.
