The first cases of infection with the South African strain of the coronavirus “omicron” began to be detected in Russia in people who did not travel abroad, said the country’s Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko.
“The virus is extremely contagious, that is, infectious, it spreads very quickly. Today we see in our country not only “imported” cases of infection with a new strain. In the regions, there are already cases of detecting omicron in people who have not left our country, ”he said (quoted by RIA Novosti).
The first cases of infection with “omicron” in Russia were recorded in people who returned from South Africa. As Rospotrebnadzor reported, they were all placed in hospitals in the Moscow region. Despite this, the strain began to be found in other regions of the country. In particular, it was recorded in Karelia, the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Perm Territory and Irkutsk.
On December 30, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, announced that 103 cases of infection with the South African strain of coronavirus were detected in Russia. She clarified that we are talking about people who came from other countries or had close contact with those who arrived.
Omicron was found in southern Africa in early November. According to the World Health Organization, the new variant of the virus has 32 mutations – more than all previously known ones. These changes increase its infectivity, potentially increase the level of penetration into human cells and affect the increase in infectivity, Popova said earlier. However, it is less likely to cause a severe course of COVID-19, she noted.
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