MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Three cases of the coronavirus Delta strain’s new variant have been identified in Moscow and the Moscow Region, Anna Popova, chief of Russia’s sanitary watchdog, said on Monday.

"We have registered it (the new coronavirus mutation - TASS) here, in Moscow and the Moscow Region, three such cases. And we are keeping a close eye on the developments," she said in an interview with Russia’s Chanel One TV.

According to Popova, another mutation, which is currently circulating in Great Britain, has also been identified in Russia.

The AY.4.2 variant was first discovered in Great Britain and is one of 45 sub-variants of the Delta strain. According to the Genetics Institute, University College London, the new strain may be 10-15% more contagious than the previous Delta variant.

Kamil Khafizov of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology told TASS on October 21 that isolated AY.4.2 cases had been confirmed in Russia. According to Khafizov, along with Great Britain and Russia, the new variant had been confirmed in the United States and Israel.