In Moscow in May, not a single case of the FLiRT coronavirus strain was detected

Experts have not identified any cases of infection with the new FLiRT coronavirus strain among Muscovites in May, said Anastasia Rakova, deputy mayor of the capital for social development.

According to her, Moscow has a well-developed management system for various seasonal diseases and constantly monitors circulating viruses. The coronavirus substrain FLiRT, as Rakova clarified, was included in the international PANGO virus classification database only on May 21.

“We conducted a retrospective analysis of our database of identified viruses, and saw FLiRT in previous productions in March and April. But it was minimal – only nine cases. It did not dominate. May monitoring showed that a new strain of coronavirus was not detected among Muscovites,” – the vice mayor emphasized.

FLiRT is a distant “descendant” of the Omicron coronavirus strain. Its symptoms are similar to the course of the disease with COVID-19.

In May, scientists admitted that FLiRT could cause a surge in coronavirus cases in the world in the summer of 2024. The new strain is not expected to lead to an increase in hospitalizations or severe illness. It was indicated that the FLiRT strain is already actively spreading in Western countries.