OREANDA-NEWS. The head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said at a meeting of the State Duma committee on health protection that there are no new variants of COVID-19 in the world that could cause concern to the Russian authorities, RIA Novosti reports.

“There are no new options in the world today that would present us with some kind of alarm,” she said.

Earlier, Popova said that in Russia, the share of the omicron coronavirus strain is 98% among the recorded cases of infection.

She made the corresponding statement during a meeting of deputies - members of the State Duma committee on health protection.

Professor Natalya Pshenichnaya, Deputy Director for Clinical and Analytical Work of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, noted that the abolition of the mask regime is a decision based on the current epidemiological situation, which can be changed if the situation worsens.

The operational headquarters reported that over the past day, March 29, 19,660 cases of coronavirus infection were registered in Russia.

Chief Physician of the Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics and Endoscopy, JSC "Medicina" (clinic of Academician Roitberg), Ph.D. Maxim Tersky told Gazeta.Ru that the growth rate of new cases of infection with the new strain of coronavirus "stealth omicron", compared with "omicron", is 80% higher in the UK experience.

“In terms of the set of mutations, the differences between the “omicron” and the “stealth omicron” are no less than those of the omicron with the “delta”. The symptoms are similar, as with “omicron”, but some authors note a more severe course, ”the physician emphasized.