MOSCOW, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Russia recorded 24,471 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 6,054,711, the official monitoring and response center said Thursday.

A man receives the COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Moscow, Russia, on July 14, 2021. (Photo: Xinhua)

The nationwide death toll grew by 796 to 151,501, while the number of recoveries increased by 22,660 to 5,427,457.

Meanwhile, Moscow, Russia's worst-hit region, reported 4,287 new cases, taking the city's total to 1,477,871.

In his meeting with government members on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia's main goal is to speed up the mass vaccination and professionally educate the public on the importance of vaccination.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said Wednesday that the country aimed to reach herd immunity at the start of November by vaccinating 80 percent of the population.

She said that 22.6 million people had been fully vaccinated in the country as of Wednesday, while 11 million others had received one dose.