MOSCOW, December 13. / TASS /. The new Omicron COVID-19 variant has been confirmed in 16 out of 177 people arriving in Russia from South Africa, which proves its high transmissibility, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policy Tatyana Golikova said on Monday.

"The Omicron variant was detected in 16 out of 177 people who returned [to Russia] today. All of them remain under observation, but there is only one reason why I am citing this data - to reconcile these figures. It stands at almost 10%, a fairly high level, and this points to high transmissibility and possible spread," Golikova noted.

According to the decree issued by Head of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Anna Popova, from December 8, those arriving in Russia from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Eswatini, South Africa and Hong Kong must self-isolate for two weeks. Furthermore, they need to be tested for COVID-19 by the PCR method twice, the first test has to be carried out within two days after arrival and the second one - on the 10th or 12th day.

The World Health Organization on November 26 assigned the Greek letter Omicron to coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 that was discovered in southern Africa. The WHO stated the variant has a large number of mutations, some of which cause concern. South Africa has the most Omicron cases, while the strain has been detected in a total of 63 countries. Meanwhile, no fatalities due to the new strain have been recorded so far.