MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. The first patients who were diagnosed with the Omicron strain in Russia have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals, Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Anna Popova said on Tuesday.

"They were examined in a laboratory on a daily basis. Upon their arrival [to Russia], in the first few days, 16 of them were diagnosed with the new Omicron variant of coronavirus. <...> At present, they have already recovered, have been discharged from hospitals as well as those who spent a 14-day quarantine. The patients have negative tests for all forms of coronavirus and their conditions did not deteriorate. After a period of 14 days, they were discharged and sent home, she said in an interview with Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.

Popova added that there is a paucity of information about the new strain so far. "Perhaps, it will be the saving grace for us all, but we are not going to consider such a scenario yet, we are taking all measures to avoid the deterioration of the epidemiological situation in Russia," she said.

According to the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), at present 41 cases of the new Omicron strain have been registered in Russia.

On November 26, the World Health Organization marked the B.1.1.529 coronavirus strain, discovered in southern Africa with the Greek letter omicron. This strain has already been detected in 80 countries. Specialists believe it may pose a threat because it spreads much faster than other strains that scientists have identified during the pandemic and contains a large number of mutations.