At the end of the New Year holidays in Russia, there may be an increase in the incidence of coronavirus due to the spread of the Omicron strain. On Sunday, January 9, the head of the scientific group for the development of new methods for diagnosing human diseases at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor Kamil Khafizov spoke about this.
“By the end of the holidays, perhaps immediately after them, we may experience an increase in morbidity due to the spread of the new Omicron strain,” he said on the air of the Russia-1 TV channel.
On January 6, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko announced cases of the Omicron coronavirus strain among people who did not leave the country.
At the same time, on January 3, the technical director of the Danish Public Health Authority (SSI), Tira Grove Krause, expressed the opinion that the spread of the omicron strain of COVID-19 could accelerate the end of the pandemic. According to her, when infected with the Omicron strain, the disease progresses more easily than with the Delta strain. Also, the number of hospitalizations is almost two times lower with Omicron than with Delta.
On December 30, the head of Rospotrebnadzor of the Russian Federation, Anna Popova, said that the Omicron coronavirus strain is three to five times more infectious than other infection options. She also noted that the first manifestations of the disease in those infected with this strain are observed as early as 3-5 days after infection.
In December, research by the UK Health Care Safety Agency (UKHSA) showed that patients with the Omicron strain of COVID-19 are 50-70% less likely to be hospitalized than those with the Delta strain.
A large-scale vaccination campaign is underway in the Russian Federation. Citizens are vaccinated for free. Five vaccines against coronavirus have been registered in the country: Sputnik V, which became the first vaccine against COVID-19 in the Russian Federation and the world, as well as Sputnik Light, EpiVacCorona, EpiVacCorona-N and KoviVak
All relevant information on the situation with the coronavirus is available on the websites of stopcoronavirus.rf and accessvsem.rf, as well as by the hashtag #WeV Together. Coronavirus hotline: 8 (800) 2000-112.
