President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia is facing a new surge of coronavirus infections because of the highly contagious omicron variant.
“It’s obvious that we are in a very difficult situation today, in a situation on the verge of possible new surges (of the virus),” Putin said during a meeting with top government officials and called for a “mobilization” of the country’s health care system. “We see what’s happening in the world. It means we have at least a couple of weeks to prepare.”
Russian officials this week have sounded the alarm about a looming COVID-19 surge, pointing to the rapid spread of omicron and growing infection rates in some regions. The warnings came as daily new infections in Russia started to climb, after weeks of declining following another record-breaking surge.
The omicron variant spreads even more easily than other coronavirus strains, and has already become dominant in many countries. It also more easily infects those who have been vaccinated or had previously been infected by prior versions of the virus. However, early studies show omicron is less likely to cause severe illness than the previous delta variant.
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