COVID-19 was the main cause of death for 543 people in Moscow in September, up 21% from August, the Russian capital's healthcare department said on Friday as the spread of the coronavirus intensified.
Moscow, the city worst hit by the pandemic in Russia, said it had recorded 11,159 total deaths in September, 1,441 more than in September 2019 and 1,702 more than the average of the previous three years.
Earlier on Friday, authorities said Russia's daily tally of new coronavirus cases had hit a record 17,340, including 5,478 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 1,480,646 since the pandemic began.
They said 283 people had died in the last 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 25,525 in Russia.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Jan Harvey)
