Russia Nears 100,000 Daily Infections as Omicron Rages

A medical specialist pushes a gurney outside a hospital for patients infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Moscow, Russia June 16, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
A medical specialist pushes a gurney outside a hospital for patients infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Moscow, Russia June 16, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Russia Nears 100,000 Daily Infections as Omicron Rages

A medical specialist pushes a gurney outside a hospital for patients infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Moscow, Russia June 16, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
A medical specialist pushes a gurney outside a hospital for patients infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Moscow, Russia June 16, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Russian authorities on Friday reported over 98,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases, but according to the Kremlin, the actual number is likely to be much higher as the highly contagious omicron variant continues to rage through the vast country.

Russia's state coronavirus task force on Friday registered 98,040 new infections tallied over the past 24 hours — another all-time high for the country that in recent weeks has faced its biggest surge of contagions in the pandemic.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that “it is obvious that this number is higher and possibly much higher,” because “many people don't get tested” and have no symptoms. Peskov noted that Russia's numbers are “so far lower than in Western European countries, than in the US, so one can't rule out that they will grow further.”

The Kremlin spokesman also admitted that a lot of people in the presidential administration have gotten infected with the virus, The Associated Press reported.

“The vast majority continue to work from home after having isolated themselves,” Peskov said. “This explosive contagiousness of the omicron, it demonstrates itself in full.”

Coronavirus infections in Russia started to soar nearly three weeks ago, with daily tallies of new cases spiking from about 15,000 on Jan. 10 to almost 100,000 on Friday. Russian authorities, however, have avoided imposing any major restrictions to stem the surge, saying the health system has been coping with the influx of patients.

Peskov said Friday there was no point in imposing “excessive restrictions" and cited “the world's experience.”

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 had only one national lockdown, in 2020, although many Russians were ordered to stay off work for a week in October 2021 amid a jump in reported cases and deaths.

In all, Russia’s state coronavirus task force has reported more than 11.5 million confirmed cases and 329,443 deaths, by far the largest death toll in Europe. Russia’s state statistics agency, which uses broader counting criteria, puts the death toll much higher, saying the overall 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.
Since July 2021, everyone who completed their vaccination more than six months ago has been eligible for a booster. But according to Gogov.ru, a website that tracks vaccinations across the country, as of Friday only 9.7 million people out of 24 million who qualified have received their booster shots.

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.



Arrests Made in Türkiye over Calls for Shopping Boycott to Support Istanbul's Imprisoned Mayor

Fine art university students shout slogans as they march past an Expresso Lab coffee bar during a peaceful protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Fine art university students shout slogans as they march past an Expresso Lab coffee bar during a peaceful protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Arrests Made in Türkiye over Calls for Shopping Boycott to Support Istanbul's Imprisoned Mayor

Fine art university students shout slogans as they march past an Expresso Lab coffee bar during a peaceful protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Fine art university students shout slogans as they march past an Expresso Lab coffee bar during a peaceful protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish police detained 11 people Thursday for supporting a shopping boycott as part of protests against the imprisonment of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival, state-run media reported.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 16 suspects in an investigation into “hatred and discrimination” and “inciting hatred and hostility” among the public, the Anadolu news agency said.

Among the detained was actor Cem Yigit Uzumoglu, who played Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror in the Netflix docuseries “Rise of Empires: Ottoman,” the Actors’ Union said.

The suspects were held over social media posts calling on people to not to spend money on Wednesday and for businesses to shut their doors in solidarity during the daylong boycott, The AP news reported.

Large-scale anti-government protests began last month after the arrest of Istanbul's opposition Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption charges that critics say are politically motivated. The government insists the judiciary is independent and free of political interference.

Istanbul prosecutors on Tuesday launched a criminal investigation into earlier boycott calls by Imamoglu’s party targeting companies it alleges support the government. In particular, the opposition identified media firms that did not air images of protests in which hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets to call for Imamoglu’s release and an end to democratic backsliding.

The leader of Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party, or CHP, issued a warning after authorities blocked social media accounts supporting Wednesday's boycott.

“We know that you have closed hundreds of pages to date,” Ozgur Ozel wrote on X. “If you become a tool for anti-democratic practices today, if you implement access ban demands, think carefully about what this nation will do to you!”

While in prison, Imamoglu has been confirmed as the CHP's presidential candidate. The next election is currently scheduled for 2028 but is likely to take place earlier.

According to the independent ANKA News Agency, some 2,000 people have been detained since Imamoglu was arrested on March 19, with 316 jailed pending trial. Most face charges relating to participating in protests.

Lawyers for imprisoned protesters on Wednesday said many had suffered mistreatment. The government has not responded to the allegations but on Thursday the police issued a statement denying claims that women had been sexually assaulted in custody as “vile slanders.”