Russia extends UK flight ban through Feb. 1
Russia has extended its suspension of air travel with the United Kingdom through Feb. 1 amid growing concerns over a new, more contagious variant of the novel coronavirus.
"For the purpose of protecting public health, the restrictions have been extended through 11:59 p.m. on February 1, 2021," Russia's coronavirus response headquarters said in a statement Tuesday.
The ban was first imposed in late December.
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The move comes after Russia confirmed its first cases of a new, highly infectious strain that is thought to have emerged in England late last year. The variant, called B117, is currently prevalent in London and other parts of southeastern England, and has since spread to more than a dozen other countries.
With more than 3.3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, Russia has the fourth-highest tally of diagnosed infections in the world, followed by the U.K., according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Russia's coronavirus response headquarters confirmed 22,934 new cases and 531 additional deaths from the disease on Monday, bringing the cumulative total to 3,448,203 cases with 62,804 deaths.
ABC News' Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.