Russia reports 29,018 new COVID-19 cases, 563 deaths

FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk near a skating rink past signs requesting to wear protective face masks and to keep a social distance amid the coronavirus disease (COVID 19) outbreak, as heavy fog covers a square named after Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in Stavropol, Russia December 1, 2020. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko/File Photo

Russia on Friday reported 29,018 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, including 7,315 in Moscow, taking the national total to 2,992,706 since the pandemic began.

Authorities said 563 had died in the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 53,659.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)