Most cases of the new variant ‘are not serious’

THOSE diagnosed with the new Covid variant mostly have no symptoms or only ‘very, very mild’ ones, health officials say.

None of the 32 confirmed Omicron cases in the UK have been hospitalised because of the virus, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

And 16 of the 19 cases of Omicron in Botswana – where the mutant was first discovered – were asymptomatic, according to that country’s health chief, Dr Pamela Smith-Lawrence.

The remaining three were ‘very, very mild’, added the acting director of health in Botswana’s ministry of health and wellness.

Most have since tested negative, indicating they are now clear of the virus, Dr Smith-Lawrence said.

Her views were echoed by an official at the World Health Organisation, who said most cases of Omicron so far have proved to be mild. Speaking anonymously, the official stressed there is currently no evidence that the new variant reduces the efficacy of vaccines.

In Britain, the Health Security Agency said it is still gathering information on the vaccination status of those infected with Omicron and it hopes to publish data later this week.

Doctors in South Africa said most of those infected with the new variant typically suffer a headache, nausea, dizziness and a high pulse rate.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, chairman of the South African Medical Association, said: ‘Looking at the mildness of the symptoms we are seeing, currently there is no reason for panicking as we don’t see any severely ill patients.’

She said the decision of many countries to ban flights from Southern African countries was ‘just a hype’.

Joe Phaahla, South Africa’s health minister, also said the majority of cases of Omicron seen by doctors in his country have been mild. He added: ‘Our clinicians have not witnessed severe illness.’

The global GISAID database, which is used by scientists to record genetically sequenced virus samples, shows just 171 confirmed cases of the new variant in South Africa.

Reports from Tshwane, South

Africa, claimed children under the age of two account for about 10 per cent of hospital admissions with the new variant.

But Downing Street said there is ‘nothing to suggest’ children are more affected by Omicron.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘We have seen those reports, but… there’s no hard evidence to suggest it disproportionately affects children.

‘It’s important to stress that there is nothing to suggest it’s impacting on different age groups in a different way to what we see with other variants, and it’s also worth noting the different age profile characteristics of South Africa as well.’ Professor Andrew Hayward, from University College London and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, or Sage, said the UK is in a ‘different situation’ now to the start of the pandemic and ‘we’re definitely not going back to the start again’. He told Times Radio: ‘When you define a pandemic, one of the sort of key points of that is that it’s coming into a population with no immunity. ‘Now, that’s just not the case any more. We may have lost some of that immunity, but we still have a reasonable amount of it. That doesn’t mean that it’s not going to cause a problem.

‘What you tend to see in pandemics is that you’ll get two or three or four reasonable-sized waves, and then it will just sort of fade into the background along with other infections.

‘Now, we’ve been able to accelerate the speed with which it’s going to fade into the background by boosting immunity and as new strains emerge over time, we’ll get a broader level of protection.

‘So, I think that the long-term picture is good, but we do have a potential problem over this winter. We need to monitor it, we need to be cautious still, I’m afraid.’

He added: ‘Obviously, the booster

‘We’re not going back to the start’

vaccination campaign is very welcome and I’m sure that will help.’

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation, said Omicron has now been reported in 23 countries but it remains unclear what impact it is having.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Covid-19 chief at the WHO, said it is still ‘very early days’ in terms of understanding the new variant, but said information is coming in daily.

Dr Van Kerkhove said: ‘We don’t have all the information yet on … if it’s more transmissible.

‘There is some suggestion of that, but again it’s early days.’

She said they have seen reports of Omicron cases which ‘go from mild disease all the way to severe disease’.