New Covid strain: Russia extends UK flight suspension until February 1

Russia on Tuesday extended flight suspension date from the United Kingdom until February 1, due to the new coronavirus strain detected in the country.

Russia will keep flights to and from the United Kingdom suspended until February 1, 2021, TASS reported citing the anti-coronavirus crisis center's statement.

"The anti-coronavirus crisis center has decided to keep flights to and from the United Kingdom suspended. In order to protect public health, the suspension has been extended until 11:59 pm on February 1, 2021," the statement said.

Russia had suspended flights to and from the UK on December 22.

Citing the World Health Orgzation (WHO), TASS reported that a new, more contagious strain of the coronavirus, initially found in the UK, has been recorded in more than 40 countries.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Russia was reported to be 3,412,390, while COVID-19 deaths stand at 61,908, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

( With inputs from ANI )