Omicron variant: South African Medical Association says new variant causes ‘mild symptoms'

In an interesting development, Angelique Coetzee, the chairwoman of the South African Medical Association, has said that the new variant of the B.1.1.529, also known as the ‘Omicron variant’, results in “mild disease without prominent symptoms”, as per Sputnik.

"It presents mild disease with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two not feeling well. So far, we have detected that those infected do not suffer the loss of taste or smell. They might have a slight cough. There are no prominent symptoms. Of those infected some are currently being treated at home", Coetzee told the news agency.

The official also added that the hospitals are not yet overburdened with the patients carrying this variant. Coetzee said that the variant won’t affect people who are fully vaccinated but the situation “might be different” for the unvaccinated.

She also remarked that the medical association is looking into it and that they’ll get to know about this variant only after two weeks. “Yes, it is transmissible, but for now, as medical practitioners, we do not know why so much hype is being driven as we are still looking into it. We will only know after two to three weeks as there are some patients admitted and these are young people aged 40 and younger," she said.

The chairwoman also criticised the countries that have put a travel ban after learning about the new variant. Earlier on Saturday, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa held a formal discussion with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson seeking the removal of South Africa from the travel ban list. “I have put South Africa's case to Johnson which he understood very well,” he said at a press conference.

What do we know about the new Omicron variant till now?

The B.1.1.529 variant has been detected in several confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in South Africa where the Beta variant was detected. With genetic changes that affect virus characteristics such as transmissibility, disease severity, immune escape, diagnostic, the variant has been detected in at least 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Africa. 

As per Tulio de Oliveira, PhD, Director of the Centre for Epidemic Response & innovation (CERI) in South Africa, the variant is now present in 90% of the cases in Gauteng. The epidemiological situation in South Africa has been characterised by three distinct peaks in reported cases, the WHO informed. At this time, as WHO studies the variant further, it is being speculated that the infections from  B.1.1.529 variant have increased steeply as well as the cases, but they are coinciding with the Delta variant.

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