Germany, Russia record thousands of new Covid cases

In Germany,  the number of new coronavirus infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days soared to 201.1 Monday, a record since the beginning of the pandemic. The figure, published by Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI), surpasses the last high, which had been 197.6 reached on December 22, 2020. While many more people in the country have had the jab than at that point last year, vaccination rates have stagnated at under 70 percent, with officials pleading in the last days for the population to get vaccinated. The surge in German cases comes with the country in political limbo following September's general election. The incoming coalition parties, aiming to form a government by early December, have so far ruled out mandatory jabs and said there will be no new lockdowns at least not for the vaccinated.

In Russia, a week-long paid holiday ended on Monday aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. The country is witnessing thousands of new cases and more than 1,000 deaths per day. President Vladimir Putin ordered a paid holiday period from October 30 to November 7 in a bid to stem soaring infections and deaths. With more than 8.8 million cases registered since the start of the pandemic, Russia is one of the worst-hit countries in the world and a devastating wave this autumn has seen infections and deaths reach new records. Authorities reported 39,400 new cases and 1,190 fatalities over the previous 24 hours on Monday. The highest number of new infections -- 41,335 was recorded on Saturday, while the highest number of new deaths --1,195 was reported last Thursday. Russia has rolled out several homegrown vaccines, including Sputnik V, but only about a third of the population is fully inoculated