TASS, December 19. Russian President Vladimir Putin is deeply concerned by the COVID-19 death toll in Russia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Sunday.

"The mortality rates are probably what concerns the president, as well as the government members, most of all. The death toll is really very high, it is a tragedy, since we lose more than 1,000 of our fellow citizens every day," Peskov noted.

Since the onset of the pandemic, over 274.2 mln people have been infected with COVID-19 all over the world, while more than 5.3 mln have died. According to the anti-coronavirus crisis center, Russia has registered 10,214,790 COVID-19 cases, some 8,984,921 people have recovered and 297,203 others have died.