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Russia has extended the ban on air traffic with the UK until early February, RIA Novosti reports.
Earlier, the Russian authorities suspended flights with the UK due to the worsening epidemiological situation. The decision took effect from midnight on December 22.
The new strain of coronavirus, which was found in the UK, is almost three quarters more infectious than the previous one and spreads much more actively. The mutation has also been identified in Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands, in many other places.
Many countries have also banned flights to the UK, and some have imposed quarantines on air passengers arriving from the country.
The first case of infection with the "British" strain in Russia occurred on the eve of the new year. It was found with one of the Russians who flew in from the UK. Several thousand people have returned to Russia from Britain over the past two months. Coronavirus was found in 32 of them.
Russian tests for coronavirus detect the so-called British strain of infection, said Anna Popova, head of Rospotrebnadzor. She confirmed that Russian vaccines are also effective against it.
The head of department notes that the strain does not worsen the course of the disease, but is a much more infectious version of COVID-19.
Russkiy Mir
