Petersburg Meets Omicron: Special Observatory and New Restrictions

A special observatory for patients with the omicron strain covid-19 was opened in St. Petersburg . This was announced on the air of Radio RUSSIA by the governor of the city Alexander Beglov. The observatory was located on the basis of the boarding houses "Baltiets" and "Zarya". According to the HEAD of administration, this is a necessary measure due to the fact that the new strain of CORONAVIRUS is much more contagious than the previous ones, which "complicates the already tense epidemiological situation in St. Petersburg."

The mayor also said that the administration of St. Petersburg is studying several scenarios for the life of the city during the New Year holidays, including additional regulation of the situation. “We are working on several scenarios for the New Year holidays, including additional regulation. The main criterion is the dynamics of the incidence,” Beglov said.

To date, two cases of infection with the Omicron strain have been recorded in the Northern Capital. Both were brought by Petersburgers from abroad. In the first case, a new coronavirus was detected in a girl who was vacationing in Dubai, in the second, in a man who returned from the Dominican Republic. According to Rospotrebnadzor, both patients are isolated in individual boxes in the hospital.

In addition, several outbreaks of COVID-19 have been recorded in the city in recent days. For example, according to Fontanka, 48 students of the Polytechnic University who live in the university dormitory on Grazhdansky Prospekt have been diagnosed with coronavirus. The day before, the rector of the university issued an order to transfer the educational institution to distance learning. Sessions will also take place remotely. Edition "MK. Petersburg”, referring to an announcement in a hostel, wrote that a new strain of coronavirus had been detected at the university. However, this information has not been officially confirmed. However, some students have been hospitalized at the Zarya boarding house, which is reserved for the observation of patients with this particular strain of COVID-19.

Today, the Delta strain of COVID-19 dominates in St. Petersburg. As of December 20, 1,958 people were infected with coronavirus in the city, patients with COVID-19 are being admitted in 17 hospitals, more than 6,000 people are now being treated there, and more than 26,000 are being treated on an outpatient basis. As for vaccination, more than 2 million 560 thousand Petersburgers have already completed the full cycle.