Delta variant: Russia reports 800 daily coronavirus deaths for fourth day 

MOSCOW: Daily coronavirus deaths in Russia exceeded 800 for the fourth straight day on Sunday, with the authorities reporting 816 new fatalities.

The daily tally surpassed 800 for the first time in the pandemic on Thursday and has remained at that level ever since.

Russia faced a surge of infections last month that officials have blamed on the spread of the delta variant.

New confirmed cases soared from around 9,000 a day in early June to 25,000 a day in mid-July.

New infections have since decreased slightly to about 21,000 daily this week, but the daily death toll has remained high.

Officials are working to boost vaccine uptake, which has remained lower in Russia than in many Western countries.

As of August 6, more than 39 million Russians -- or 26.7 per cent of the 146-million population -- had received at least one dose, while over 30 million, or 20 per cent, was said to be fully vaccinated.

Russia's state coronavirus task force has reported over 6.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the pandemic and 170,499 deaths.

However, reports by Russia's state statistical service Rosstat that look at coronavirus-linked deaths retroactively have revealed a much higher number.