and he praised its progress in fighting the virus. he also announced additional economic and social support measures as a result of the pandemic's impact. he announced the end of russia's flat income tax rate of 13% that he introduced in 2001 by increasing the tax rate for the top earners who earn over 5 million rubles (about $73,000) to 15%, starting from 1 january 2021. he said that the extra revenue of around 60 billion rubles (about $875 million) would go towards helping children with severe or rare diseases. he also announced other measures including increased benefits to families where both parents have lost their job and a one-off payment to families in july of 10,000 rubles for each child they have aged under 16. 100 billion rubles would also handed out in loans for businesses to pay employees. he also said that it companies would benefit from an ultra-low tax regime and profits tax for them would be cut from 20% to 3%. putin also proposed extending payments to social workers for another two months. elena smolyarchuk, director of the center for clinical study of medicines at sechenov university spoke about the effects of a vaccine being tested, saying that in the first hours, some volunteers had a slight increase in temperature and a headache which disappeared later in the day, with all volunteers currently well. experts described the reaction as normal. the moscow victory day parade took place on 24 june as it was postponed. on 24 june, 7,176 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 606,881. confirmed deaths rose to 8,513. the 2020 moscow victory day parade took place that day. kyrgyz president sooronbay jeenbekov, who arrived in moscow for the parade, did not attend after two members of his delegation tested positive for the virus and he would return to the kyrgyz capital city bishkek to self-isolate. the website znak.com reported that at least 40 regions had cancelled their parades or held them without spectators due to the virus, where 30 major cities had cancelled their parade. on 25 june, 7,113 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 613,994. confirmed deaths rose to 8,605. the governor of st. petersburg, alexander beglov, signed a decree to lift some restrictions including the ban on visiting parks, gardens and squares, as well as playgrounds and sports grounds from 28 june. prime minister mishustin also signed an order allowing foreign specialists with permission to work in russia to enter the country. moscow's mayor, sobyanin, said that the city wasn't yet ready to fully open its tourism sector. on 26 june, 6,800 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 620,794. confirmed deaths rose to 8,781. on 27 june, 6,852 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 627,646. confirmed deaths rose to 8,969. russian tour operators began cancelling tours with flights abroad in july due to uncertainty in the easing of restrictions. the director of the state research center of virology and biotechnology vector, rinat maksyutov, said on television that around 70 million people would need to be vaccinated for collective immunity. on 28 june, 6,791 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 634,437. confirmed deaths rose to 9,073. president putin said that he takes a test every 3–4 days, with each of them returning negative. on 29 june, 6,719 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 641,156. confirmed deaths rose to 9,166. deputy prime minister dmitry chernyshenko said that cinemas will be able to reopen from 15 july if local governments allow them. authorities in kalmykia extended the second phase of the easing of restrictions to 12 july, as the infection rate was too high. the press and public relations centre of the federal security service said that lenin's mausoleum will reopen on 1 july. on 30 june, 6,693 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 647,849. confirmed deaths rose to 9,320. the director of the state research center of virology and biotechnology vector, rinat maksyutov, said that 3 prototype vaccines have been shown to be effective. chechnya's leader, kadyrov, ended the two-week quarantine requirement for people entering the republic.