More than a fifth of Russian parliamentarians have been or are ill with Covid-19. This was stated at a meeting between Vyatéslav Volodín, President of the Duma, Lower House of the Russian Parliament, and Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, as the presidency of Putin reported this morning . The number of new infections in Russia has risen sharply in recent weeks, and today it was announced that 17,347 people had been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, yesterday.

That number has never been higher.

A total of 1,531,224 have been infected, according to official figures , and 26,269 died.

A total of 38 MPs are currently in hospital. One of them is in intensive care and one has died. His name was Vakha Agajev and he was 67 years old. A total of 91 MPs have been weakened by Covid-19 in Russia.

450 MPs are sitting in the Duma and quarantine measures were taken there last month, according to a Moscow Times report, after about two dozen MPs were diagnosed  infected. Volodín asked those MPs who are considered the most vulnerable to work from home.

At least one member of parliament has been infected despite receiving the Russian Sputnik vaccine. He thinks he has been given a placebo.

Volodin said that despite these infections and disease control measures were

Putin and Volodin’s personal meeting has attracted attention, especially since Volodin had not been seen in parliament for about two weeks. This is believed to support reports that Putin, who has isolated himself outside Moscow and limited his meetings with others, has made everyone who met him quarantine two weeks earlier.

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