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Russia ready to fight new pandemic threats, Kremlin says

At the same time, Dmitry Peskov noted that "any restrictions one way or another negatively impact the economy, inconvenience people"

MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. Russia is ready to fight new threats that may emerge due to the spread of the coronavirus infection, including the new Omicron strain, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday.

"Regions are reacting to the current situation," he said in response to a question as to whether the Kremlin sees any risks due to relaxed anti-COVID restrictions in some regions given the threat of the new Omicron strain. "Of course, any restrictions one way or another negatively impact the economy, inconvenience people, so if some more noticeable trends of improved epidemiological dynamics are observed, then some restrictions are lifted," he explained.

"At the same time, the entire system is ready to undertake all the necessary measures to fight possible new threats," the Kremlin official emphasized.

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the B.1.1.529 variant identified in South Africa as a "Variant of Concern" and assigned it the Greek letter Omicron. In its statement, the WHO noted that "this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning." Several changes at once in the spike protein can potentially hinder the neutralization of the pathogen by antibodies which may impact the effectiveness of vaccines. Additionally, according to preliminary reports, the mutation is much more transmissible.