MOSCOW: Russia has extended a ban on flights to and from Britain until the end of February 1 due to the new coronavirus strain detected in the United Kingdom, Russia's coronavirus taskforce said on Tuesday. Russia, which has already reported a case of the more infectious coronavirus variant, has had the flight ban in place since December 22.

"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.

Citing the WHO, Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union 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.