Russia prepares new measures as Omicron cases near 700

Russia has so far recorded 698 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant and will prepare new measures by the end of the week to combat its spread, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said on Wednesday. Omicron has pushed COVID-19 case figures to record highs in parts of western Europe and the United States but the variant has been slower to hit Russia, where daily COVID cases have fallen from a peak of 41,335 registered in early November. Data compiled by the Reuters COVID-19 tracker show Russia's reported pandemic death toll stands at more than 666,000, the second highest in the world behind the United States.