MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. Russia has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases in the past six weeks, and the increase was 13.6% higher last week compared to the week before, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Wednesday.

"Over the past six weeks, which are the 37th-42nd weeks of 2021, the Russian Federation has seen an increase in novel coronavirus infections. According to the results of the past 42nd week, the incidence rate was 172.1 per 100,000 population. It is 13.6% higher than a week ago," he said at a meeting on mass vaccination with regional officials.

According to the latest statistics, about 244.6 million people have been infected with coronavirus worldwide and more than 4.9 million deaths have been reported.

To date, 8,352,601 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 7,242,735 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 233,898 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.