Russia has reported some COVID-19 infections with a new coronavirus variant believed to be even more contagious than the Delta one amid a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths that has pushed Moscow’s authorities to reimpose lockdown measures.
It is possible that the AY.4.2 variant will spread widely, Kamil Khafizov, a senior researcher at Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said on October 21, according to local news agencies.
The new variant could spur a jump in the rate of new COVID-19 cases and could even replace the Delta variant eventually, although the process is likely to be slow, Khafizov said.
