Doctor who saw omicron early says it’s very mild

People infected by omicron in South Africa are showing very different symptoms to those suffering from the delta strain, said the doctor who alerted government scientists to the possibility of a new variant.

Patients who contracted the omicron strain complain of fatigue, head and body aches and occasional sore throats and coughs, said Angelique Coetzee, who is also chairwoman of the South African Medical Association. Delta infections, by comparison, caused elevated pulse rates, led to low oxygen levels and a loss of smell and taste, she said.

After weeks of almost no Covid patients at her practice in Pretoria, the capital and epicentre of South Africa's current surge, Coetzee said she suddenly started seeing patients complain of the symptoms on Nov. 18. She immediately informed the government's Ministerial Advisory Council on Covid-19 and laboratories the next week identified a new variant, she said.

"I said these different symptoms can't be delta, they are very similar to beta or it must be a new strain," she said in an interview on Monday. "I don't think it will blow over but I think it will be a mild disease hopefully. For now we are confident we can handle it."

South Africa announced the identification of a new variant on November 25, saying a few cases had first been identified in neighbouring Botswana and then others had followed in Tshwane, the municipal area in which Pretoria is located. The announcement caused a global panic.

Scientists advising South Africa's government told a media briefing on Monday that while omicron appeared to be more transmissible, cases appeared to very mild.