in Russia, the first two cases of omicron infection were recorded among those who arrived from South Africa

Two patients with a positive PCR test, who came from South Africa, confirmed the omicron coronavirus strain, Rospotrebnadzor reported. About it writes RIA Novosti.

“In two patients with a positive PCR test, obtained on the first day of stay in the observatory, as a result of genome-wide sequencing carried out by the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, the omicron strain was confirmed,” the message says.

For the first time, the omicron strain was entered into the databases on November 11. The first case of infection was reported in Botswana, followed by several more were detected in South Africa. At the moment, “omicron” has been found in dozens of countries.

TRAIN notesIt is not yet clear whether the omicron variant has increased contagiousness (that is, the ability to be transmitted more easily from person to person) compared to other variants, and whether it causes a more severe course of the disease compared to other variants.

However, some scholars express concerns about changes in the strain’s spike protein that could potentially make it difficult to neutralize the pathogen with antibodies, which could affect the effectiveness of vaccines.