There have been more corona cases in the vicinity of Russian President Vladimir Putin than originally known. “Not just one or two, but several dozen people” are infected with the virus, Putin said on Thursday via video conference at the meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The head of state went into self-isolation on Tuesday after a case of infection in a close employee was discovered.
Putin had to cancel the CSTO summit in Tajikistan because of the quarantine. He apologized to the partner countries for the cancellation due to dozens of coronavirus cases in his close environment.
According to his own statements, the 68-year-old head of state was vaccinated with the Russian vaccine Sputnik V in June. Putin was “absolutely healthy,” said his spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday.
The current corona wave triggered by the highly contagious Delta virus variant hits Russia particularly hard, especially since the willingness to vaccinate in the huge country is low. Even Putin’s appeals to be immunized have not demonstrably increased willingness to vaccinate. Russia relies primarily on the vector vaccine Sputnik V, which has been developed in its own country.