Coronavirus infection in Russia. January 16

In the past 24 hours, Russia has confirmed 27 129 cases of COVID-19 and 723 deaths due to a disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The total case count going up to 10 774 304 and 320 634 deaths, the anti-coronavirus crisis center informed.

- Russia will delay controversial legislation over the use of coronavirus health passes for access to public spaces, officials said Friday, citing “new challenges” presented by the Omicron variant.

- Foreigners will be able to obtain a coronavirus health pass — QR code — in Russia by taking an antibody test, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said Friday. The passes will be valid for six months.

- Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Friday that Omicron had become the dominant coronavirus strain in the Russian capital, accounting for more than half of all new infections. He said daily cases would likely top 7 000 on Saturday. Moscow’s record daily infection tally was 9 120 in June 2021.

- Russia has so far confirmed 698 official cases of the Omicron variant, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova announced at a meeting on Wednesday.

- President Vladimir Putin said health authorities only have “a couple of weeks” to prepare for the next wave of the pandemic.

- Russia delivered fewer than 80 million doses of its Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines to other countries in 2021, according to Unicef data cited by The Washington Post. The jab’s developers had initially planned to export doses for more than 500 million people, but have been beset by production and delivery delays. The vaccine has also yet to be approved by either the World Health Organization (WHO) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the military to limit vacations and trips abroad for servicemen and women due to the spread of the Omicron variant.