Kyrgyzstan sent samples to Novosibirsk to determine the types of strains circulating in the republic. Director of the Department of Disease Prevention and State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance Sultan Abdykadyrov told 24.kg news agency.
According to him, 100 samples were sent to Vector laboratory in Novosibirsk, and the results are planned to be received in about 20 days. The Kyrgyz Republic will send 30 samples to London through the World Health Organization (WHO).
«WHO reports that no deaths from the new Omicron coronavirus strain have been reported so far. Little time has passed, so it is too early to judge the severity of the variant. But the infectiousness, of course, is high, so it will spread quickly. The most important thing now is to see what result this strain will lead to, what the severity of the disease will be. There is a hope, and some epidemiologists are already talking about it, that its course will be less severe,» Sultan Abdykadyrov said.
He stressed that the public health measures have remained the same so far: wearing masks, compliance with hand hygiene, social distancing, avoiding crowded places, and most important, vaccination. «Even if the vaccinated person gets sick, the course of the disease will definitely be easier,» the head of the department said.
The main symptoms of the Omicron strain are enormous fatigue, and a sore throat. In addition, doctors from South Africa noted palpitations, high fever, aches and dry cough among the symptoms.
The new strain was first detected in South Africa in November 2021. In less than two weeks, infected with the new strain appeared in dozens of countries, including Russia.