Kovit: The first cases of the Omicron variant were discovered in Russia

Russia has identified the first two cases of its variation Omigron Two passengers returning from South Africa were infected with the corona virus, the Rospotrebnadzor health agency said Monday.

“The Omigron variant was confirmed (…) in two patients who received a positive PCR test within the first 24 hours of monitoring,” the company said in a statement.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, all travelers returning from South Africa and neighboring countries who discovered this new variant at the end of November are screened on their arrival and placed in special observation points.

Currently, ten of these passengers have tested positive for Covit-19, Rospotrebnadzor notes, and analysis is underway to identify questionable variants.

In early autumn, Russia was hit hard by a new wave of corona virus caused by delta variation, which was facilitated by public distrust of vaccines.

There are several vaccines in the country, including Sputnik V, but only 40.3% of the 146 million Russians have been fully vaccinated to date, according to the specialty site Gogov.

The total death toll from the epidemic in the country at the end of October was more than 520,000, according to statistics firm Rosstat.

If the country does not currently break the daily record of pollution and deaths, the figures are higher with 32,136 new infections and 1,184 deaths on Monday, according to the government.