WHO urges caution as South Africa says Omicron variant causes ‘mild’ symptoms

Form of words:
a-
A+

TeaThe World Health Organization is urging caution after two South African health experts, including doctors who first sounded the alarm about the Omicron variant, indicated that symptoms associated with the coronavirus strain so far remained mild Huh.

The initial reported infections were among university students, the WHO said, with younger patients having mild symptoms.

“It will take several days to several weeks to understand the level of severity of the Omicron variant,” the WHO said in a statement. Statement Sunday, adding that “there is currently no information to suggest that the symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those of other types.”

The latest version wreaked havoc in global markets on Friday, while early cues in Asia suggested a quiet start to the new week as traders digested the early impact of Omicron. US equity futures and crude oil rose and currency markets stabilized. The rod got stronger.

The UK government will convene an urgent meeting of the Group of Seven Health Ministers on Monday to discuss the latest developments, according to the country’s Department of Health. The White House said that President Joe Biden in the US will also give an update on Monday.

South Africa, which previously identified the new variant, currently has 3,220 people with coronavirus infections in total, although there has been no real increase in hospitalizations, Barry SchaubThe chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Vaccines told Sky News on Sunday.

“The cases that have been reported so far are all mild cases, mild to moderate cases, and that’s a good sign,” Schaub said. He said it was still early days and nothing was certain yet.

travel ban

The WHO said hospitalizations were preliminary figures, “but this may be due to an increase in the total number of people being infected as a result of specific infection with Omicron.”

South Africa has been hit with a number of travel restrictions from Britain and other countries, as its scientists found the mutated version last week. Since then, Australia, as well as a growing number of European countries, have identified people infected in this way.

Schob said that the large number of mutations in the omicron variant appears to destabilize the virus, which may make it less “fit” than the dominant delta strain.

“In a way, hopefully it won’t displace Delta because Delta responds very well to the vaccine we know,” he said.

Only about a third of South African adults are vaccinated.

Read also: US imposes travel ban on South Africa and 7 other countries over Omicron version

feeling tired

Angelique Coetzee, president of the South African Medical Association, called the symptoms associated with the variant “different and much milder” at this point compared to others treated for the virus in recent months.

Coetzee, who first saw what the new version turned out to be, told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper that several healthy young men who came to his clinic were “feeling very tired.” About half were not vaccinated.

“What we’re seeing clinically in South Africa and remember, I’m at the epicenter, where I’m practicing is extremely mild,” she told the BBC’s “Andrew Marr Show” on Sunday.

“Around 18 November, I suddenly encountered an unusual symptom in a patient” who was “extremely tired for the past two days”

Dr. Angelique Coetzee explains how she found out about the Omicron coronavirus disease
https://t.co/RsskjmFkLd #Kill pic.twitter.com/pXtyYsQxxR

— BBC Politics (@BBCpolitics) November 28, 2021

“We haven’t hospitalized anyone with the new version”, she said. “I talked to my other colleagues, same picture.”

Asked if officials around the world are panicking unnecessarily, Coetzee said, “Yes, at this stage I would say for sure. Two weeks from now, maybe we can say something different.”—bloomberg

Read also: Omicron Edition reminds the world that the COVID pandemic is far from over

subscribe our channel youtube And Wire