Bashkiria government strengthens epidemiological safety measures due to threat of omicron strain

On Tuesday, January 18, at the Government House of Bashkortostan, Prime Minister Andrey Nazarov held a working meeting with the heads of large industrial enterprises to discuss measures on combatting COVID in connection with the worsening epidemiological situation.

"Now, given the high contagiousness of the new strain, we need to strengthen restrictive measures aimed at preventing the spread of a new coronavirus infection, since we are talking about the health of our citizens," Andrey Nazarov said.

According to the head of the regional Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Kazak, the new omicron strain is highly contagious, with a shorter incubation period of 2-5 days compared to other strains.

"We recommend that, if possible, the older generation and people on follow-up observation for chronic diseases should be transferred to a remote work format. We also ask you to limit business trips abroad for your employees so as not to create a threat of infection," the chief sanitary doctor said.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Government RB, Minister of Health Maxim Zabelin, added that there was a daily increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the republic. If a week ago this figure was at the level of 220-230, today it is already 253. The infection spread rate increases and hospitalizations are also growing accordingly.

According to the Ministry of Health RB, today, collective immunity has been achieved in most enterprises, and now it is essential to maintain it by revaccinating employees.

The Prime Minister noted that during the continuous fight against the infection since the spring of 2020, the republic has gone through various stages, including restrictive measures and universal vaccination. Success has been achieved in several areas.

According to the emergency control center, Bashkortostan is among the leaders in the immunization of residents. To date, 2,264,418 people or 91% of the population to be vaccinated have been jabbed with the first dose of the vaccine. Also, modern COVID hospitals were built in the republic in a short time.