Russia cuts COVID-19 isolation for some as infections soar

By DASHA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian health authorities have shortened the required isolation period for those who came in contact with COVID-19 patients from 14 to seven days, a move that comes as an unprecedented surge of coronavirus infections, driven by the highly contagious omicron variant, rips through the vast country. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced on Tuesday that a decree cutting the isolation period has come into force. Daily new infections in Russia have been rising sharply for the past two weeks, increasing more than four-fold — from about 15,000 on Jan. 10 to 67,809 on Tuesday, the highest daily tally in the pandemic.