MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. Russian specialists have uncovered 17 infections with the new EG.5 coronavirus variant dubbed Eris since April through August, the press service of the sanitary watchdog told reporters.

"In the Russian Federation, the first isolated cases of infection with the EG.5 variant were detected in April 2023 (in Moscow, the Moscow Region, St. Petersburg, the Magadan, Irkutsk, Krasnodar, Buryatia and Khakassia Regions). Overall, 17 cases or 0.24% of all infections in April-August 2023," a statement by Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing said.

The agency stressed that this variant "is not yet widespread." That said, it does carry the risk of complicating the epidemiological coronavirus situation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated Eris as a variant of interest (VOI) with the first samples containing it recorded in February 2023.

According to the WHO, "the public health risk posed by EG.5 is evaluated as low at the global level."

The WHO recommended to all countries to share information on the spread of EG.5 and to "detect significant changes in the virus, as well as trends in disease severity and population immunity."