JOHANNESBURG /South Africa/, December 14. /TASS/. The Russian Emergencies Ministry’s Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft carrying the national sanitary watchdog’s experts and a mobile laboratory has landed in the South African city of Johannesburg, a TASS correspondent reported.
The aircraft has delivered a group of virologists, infectious disease experts, doctors from the sanitary watchdog and the Russian Health Ministry and the Emergencies Ministry’s task force, as well as a mobile lab created on the basis of a KamAZ vehicle.
The sanitary watchdog said earlier that the Russian experts would carry out joint research with their South African colleagues and exchange experience in combating the coronavirus.
The flight was conducted under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order based on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s request.
On November 25, the South African Health Ministry announced the discovery of a new coronavirus variant. The World Health Organization (WHO) named it after the Greek letter omicron on November 26. According to the WHO, "this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning." Omicron cases have already been detected in more than 60 countries, including Russia, with most patients identified in South Africa. The country’s most densely populated Gauteng Province has so far reported the majority of new infections. Scientists have already figured out that the Omicron variant is highly contagious but does not cause severe forms of the coronavirus in vaccinated people. A number of researchers believe that all of Omicron’s features aren’t clear yet so the coordinated efforts of specialists are crucial for promptly studying the strain and its impact on human health.