MOSCOW, Jan 11 — Russia warned today it could face a "very intense” rise in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the coming weeks and authorities said that Moscow would mobilise its health system to combat the rise in infections.

Speaking at a televised meeting of the government’s coronavirus task force, Anna Popova, a top consumer health official, said that Russia had so far recorded 305 cases of Omicron across 13 of its regions. — Reuters