The Minister of Health of Karelia Mikhail Okhlopkov said that an omicron strain of coronavirus was detected in the republic. On the first case of infection with this mutation in one of the Russian regions, he told on its official page on the VKontakte social network.

Okhlopkov said that the omicron introduced himself to a woman who had returned from France. A positive test result was transferred to Karelia from St. Petersburg. According to the minister, the patient has no complaints, her condition is satisfactory.

The minister also added that the Russian vaccine “Sputnik V” has demonstrated its effectiveness against the omicron strain and vaccination of the country’s population to be vaccinated. He recalled that the new mutation of the coronavirus is more infectious than the others and spreads faster.

“I want to warn you right away: when the residents of the republic, who have not yet taken care of vaccination, do not get vaccinated in the near future, it will be difficult for us to stop the explosive growth in the number of infected and sick with coronavirus,” Okhlopkov concluded.

According to Rospotrebnadzor data as of December 30, 2021, 103 cases of infection with the omicron strain were detected in Russia. The head of the department, Anna Popova, noted that those who fell ill with the new mutation of citizens were those who came from abroad.

The World Health Organization (WHO) at the end of November classified a new variant of the coronavirus recorded in South Africa as causing concern. Strain B.1.1.529 was designated with the Greek letter omicron.