The Russian authorities reported today the discovery of several cases of the new subvariant of the Delta strain, AY.4.2., in the Moscow region.
The Russian body in charge of consumer protection, Rospotrebnadzor, explained that this variant is, “probably, a little more contagious than the Delta original”.
However, according to the expert of that body, Kamil Khafizov, this is not the same as what happened when the Delta variants and Alpha, which were “50-60% more contagious than previous versions of the virus.”
“It is probably 10% more contagious, according to foreign studies, than the original delta variant,” he said. On the other hand, it did not confirm the information in the local press about other centers of the AY.4.2. In the second city of the country, Saint Petersburg, and IN the Tver region.
Cases on the rise
The expert added that existing vaccines are just as effective against new variants of COVID-19. Russia today marked another record of mortality with 1,036 deaths in the last 24 hours, to which we must add another maximum in positives with 36,339 cases.
Faced with the complicated epidemic situation, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a week of paid vacation for Russians from October 30 to November 7.
It also authorized regional authorities to bring that vacation period forward to October 23 and extend it after November 7 if necessary.
The Government recognized that the current measures are insufficient to stop the new wave of infections and once again ordered Russians to be vaccinated, something that only a third of the population has done.
EFE
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