MOSCOW, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Russia registered 29,039 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the highest number of daily infections to date, the country's COVID-19 response center said Sunday.

The national caseload has grown to 2,460,770, including 1,937,738 recoveries, the center said.

Meanwhile, 457 new deaths were reported, taking the nationwide count to 43,141.

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 7,512 new cases in the same period, bringing its total to 647,562.

Russia currently ranks fourth globally for the total number of infections.

Over 79.3 million COVID-19 tests have so far been conducted across the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday instructed the government to begin large-scale COVID-19 vaccinations next week as the number of produced vaccine doses were about to reach 2 million.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced Friday that the Russian capital has launched its mass immunization program against the coronavirus.

Medical workers, teachers, and social services employees will be the first to receive the vaccines as they belong to the most vulnerable groups, and over 5,000 people have already signed up for the shot, Sobyanin said on his blog.