Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Russia's Putin Says No to Lockdown Despite Spiking COVID Cases Charles Maynes MOSCOW - Russia reported record numbers of infections and deaths from the novel coronavirus on Thursday,the latest sign that the country is again struggling to contain an outbreak that Kremlin officials only recently portrayed as largely under control. The state coronavirus task force recorded 17, 717 new infections and 366 deaths on Thursday alone,raising the national tally to more than 1.5 million cases and 27,301 fatalities from the global contagion. Russia currently is fourth in the [1]global rankings for coronavirus infections,behind Brazil, India and the United States. But despite what a Kremlin spokesman described as "maximum pressure" on the nation's health care system, President Vladimir Putin on Thursday assured Russians there would be no repeat of a spring lockdown that hobbled the economy and sent his approval ratings tumbling. "We're not planning to introduce total restrictive measures and order a so-called national lockdown where the economy and business essentially stop completely," said Putin, speaking by videoto an annual investment forum. Putin's decision to designate an extended "non-working holiday" in April was generally credited by health officials with helping contain the virus but widely panned by Russian citizens for failing to provide enough economic support to families and businesses. The Russian leader maintains that the health of citizens remains the government's main priority. Moscow vs. regions In Moscow -- Russia's largest city and the center of the country's outbreak -- Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has introduced limited measures aimed at containing a second wave of infections. References 1. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html .