MOSCOW (XINHUA, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - Russia registered 25,173 Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, a new all-time high, as the pandemic worsened in the cold season, said the country's Covid-19 response centre on Monday (Nov 23).

The national tally of cases has grown to 2,114,502, including 36,540 deaths and 1,611,445 recoveries, the centre said in a statement.

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 6,866 new cases over the past day, bringing the city's total to 560,579.

So far, more than 72.9 million tests have been conducted in the country.

Russia has been working on a coronavirus vaccine and earlier this month said its Sputnik V vaccine is 92 per cent effective at protecting people from Covid-19, based on interim trial results.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which has been backing Sputnik V's development, said the Russian trial would continue for six months.

Dr Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Institute which developed the vaccine, said the interim results demonstrated that Sputnik V was effective and mass vaccinations would be rolled out in Russia in the coming weeks.

In later comments, aired by Rossiya-24 state TV channel, he said at least 1.5 million people in Russia were expected to receive the shot by the end of the year. He added that around 40,000 to 45,000 Russians had already been vaccinated.

Russia has the fifth-most cases globally, after the United States, India, Brazil and France.