SIMFEROPOL, July 14. / TASS /. The Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing recorded the prevalence of the Delta COVID-19 variant in Crimea, which resulted in a new high in terms of acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) cases for the first time in 20 years, chief sanitary doctor for Crimea and Sevastopol Natalya Penkovskaya announced on Wednesday.
"Since the 24th week of this year, for the first time in the last 20 years, the level of the epidemic threshold for seasonal incidence of acute respiratory infections in July hit a record high. This is clearly associated with the circulation of the existing [COVID-19] variant on the peninsula and in Sevastopol. Based on the sequencing results for the last week, we found out that Crimea and Sevastopol were among those regions where the circulating Indian Delta variant was dominant," Penkovskaya said during a meeting of the regional crisis center.
The Crimean chief sanitary doctor noted that the situation with the COVID-19 spread remained unstable, while a tendency towards a significant growth in cases was recorded. Speaking about the Delta variant’s features, Penkovskaya mentioned that the illness started with the ARVI symptoms, had a shorter incubation period, which led to a more rapid deterioration of the patient's condition. "The [condition of] patients admitted to the hospital very quickly becomes critical. When dealing with the Wuhan variant, we had a 14-day incubation period, whereas today the incubation period reduced to 5-6 days," Penkovskaya stated.
On June 22, amid an increase in the COVID-19 incidence, the Crimean authorities tightened the restrictive measures again: nighttime catering was prohibited, except for takeaway and delivery services, as well as leisure events. In Simferopol and the Simferopol Region, Yalta and Alushta, where the situation was the most challenging, some additional measures had been introduced — a ban on discos, karaoke clubs, hookah bars, and nightclubs, while theaters and cinemas were allowed to fill up to 50%. On Tuesday, the authorities decided to extend additional COVID-19 restrictions to a number of municipalities in some of Crimea’s regions and cities.
According to Russia’s sanitary watchdog, Crimea has registered over 50,000 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, some 45,000 people have recovered, and more than 1,500 have died. Meanwhile, Crimea’s epidemiological situation is currently the same as it was in mid-winter when the region faced the most challenging times in terms of combating COVID-19.