Moscow, Sep 16 - Reuters - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he would have to spend days in self isolation after dozens of people in his entourage fell ill with COVID - 19, the TASS news agency reported.
During the summit of a Russian security bloc which was held in Tajikistan, Putin had a video link to the video. He planned to attend in person before the news of the virus outbreak in his inner circle this week.
It was previously unclear how big the outbreak was and how long Putin would remain isolated.
This is not only one person or two people, there are dozens of people, he said.
And now I have to remain in self-isolation for a few days. Putin, 68, who has had two shots of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, said this week that he was now personally testing its effectiveness while Kremlin said the President himself was healthy.
The Kremlin has put in place a strict regime designed to keep Putin away from anyone with COVID - 19.
Kremlin visitors have had to pass through multiple disinfection tunnels, journalists attending his events must undergo special PCR tests, and some people he meets are asked to quarantine before they are tested.