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MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia was facing a new wave of coronavirus infections due to the highly contagious omicron variant.
“Obviously we are in a very difficult situation today, on the verge of possible new (virus) increases,” Putin said during a meeting with top government officials, calling for a “mobilization” of the country’s health. care system.
“We see what is happening in the world. It means we have at least a few weeks to prepare. ”
Russian officials this week are sounding the alarm about an impending increase in COVID-19, pointing to the rapid spread of Omicron and rising infection rates in some areas. The warnings came as daily new infections in Russia began to rise, after weeks of decline following another record wave.
The Omicron variant spreads even more easily than other strains of the coronavirus and has already become prevalent in many countries. It also more easily infects those who have been vaccinated or have been previously infected with previous versions of the virus. However, early studies show that omicron is less likely to cause serious disease than the previous delta variant.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Russia’s state coronation working group reported more than 17,000 new infections, up from about 15,000 on Monday.
Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova told a government meeting with Putin that the number of confirmed omicron cases in Russia had risen to 698 on Wednesday, more than double the 305 reported the previous day.
“We can not avoid a new outbreak,” Golikova said, adding that the Moscow region was likely to “receive the first blow”. Golikova also said the government would present additional measures to meet the impending rise by the end of the week. He did not provide details on what those measures might be.
Russia reported between 15,000 and 18,000 new infections a day this year, compared with about 30,000 daily cases in December. The country’s coronavirus working group has recorded more than 10.6 million confirmed infections and a total of 317,618 deaths.
Russia’s State Statistics Service, which uses broader counting criteria, puts the death toll much higher, saying the total number of virus-related deaths between April 2020 and October 2021 was over 625,000.
Russia had only one national lockdown in 2020, and in October many Russians were ordered to stay out of work for a week amid a wave of infections and deaths, but authorities generally resisted closing businesses or imposing harsh restrictions.
Russian lawmakers introduced legislation late last year restricting access to public places to those who have been vaccinated, recovered or medically excluded from the vaccine, but the law has not yet passed all three readings in parliament.
Similar restrictions already exist in some Russian regions, but are often loosely applied. In others it was relaxed in anticipation of the New Year holidays.
“Obviously we are in a very difficult situation today, on the verge of possible new (virus) increases,” Putin said during a meeting with top government officials, calling for a “mobilization” of the country’s health. care system.
“We see what is happening in the world. It means we have at least a few weeks to prepare. ”
Russian officials this week are sounding the alarm about an impending increase in COVID-19, pointing to the rapid spread of Omicron and rising infection rates in some areas. The warnings came as daily new infections in Russia began to rise, after weeks of decline following another record wave.
The Omicron variant spreads even more easily than other strains of the coronavirus and has already become prevalent in many countries. It also more easily infects those who have been vaccinated or have been previously infected with previous versions of the virus. However, early studies show that omicron is less likely to cause serious disease than the previous delta variant.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Russia’s state coronation working group reported more than 17,000 new infections, up from about 15,000 on Monday.
Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova told a government meeting with Putin that the number of confirmed omicron cases in Russia had risen to 698 on Wednesday, more than double the 305 reported the previous day.
“We can not avoid a new outbreak,” Golikova said, adding that the Moscow region was likely to “receive the first blow”. Golikova also said the government would present additional measures to meet the impending rise by the end of the week. He did not provide details on what those measures might be.
Russia reported between 15,000 and 18,000 new infections a day this year, compared with about 30,000 daily cases in December. The country’s coronavirus working group has recorded more than 10.6 million confirmed infections and a total of 317,618 deaths.
Russia’s State Statistics Service, which uses broader counting criteria, puts the death toll much higher, saying the total number of virus-related deaths between April 2020 and October 2021 was over 625,000.
Russia had only one national lockdown in 2020, and in October many Russians were ordered to stay out of work for a week amid a wave of infections and deaths, but authorities generally resisted closing businesses or imposing harsh restrictions.
Russian lawmakers introduced legislation late last year restricting access to public places to those who have been vaccinated, recovered or medically excluded from the vaccine, but the law has not yet passed all three readings in parliament.
Similar restrictions already exist in some Russian regions, but are often loosely applied. In others it was relaxed in anticipation of the New Year holidays.
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Sources 2/ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/russia-on-the-verge-of-a-new-virus-surge-president-vladimir-putin/articleshow/88854843.cms The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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