Russia able to be flexible in coronavirus response despite surge, says Kremlin

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia could afford to be more flexible in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic than earlier this year when it imposed a lockdown.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had more room for maneuver this time round because of better available treatment methods, more hospital beds, and a tried and tested system in place to tackle the virus.

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Russia, which has no lockdown currently, recorded a new record increase in coronavirus cases on Sunday. Earlier on Monday, new cases remained close to that level.

Read more: Coronavirus: Kremlin says second human trials of Sputnik V vaccine launched in UAE

More than 37.42 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,074,688 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.