Africa
South Africans with Omicron Not Seriously ill, Says Doctor
-
South Africans with Omicron not seriously ill, says doctor
EKO HOT BLOG reports that the people in South Africa who have caught the Omicron strain of Covid-19 have not become seriously ill, according to the country’s medical association (SAMA).
According to Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of the South African Medical Association, the cases discovered in South Africa so far are not significant.
File
However, study into the variation is still in its early stages, she added, adding that just 24% of individuals in the nation are completely vaccinated.
“The patients generally complain of a hurting body and exhaustion, acute tiredness, and we notice it in the younger generation, not the older generation,” she explained.
According to Coetzee, they were not patients who were admitted straight to the hospital.
In comments to other media, Coetzee expressed concerns that the variant might have on older people with underlying conditions such as heart disease or diabetes.
The symptoms of the new variant are unusual but mild, she said, adding that she was first alerted to the possibility of a new variant when patients with unusual symptoms for Covid-19 came to her practice in Pretoria in early November complaining of severe fatigue.
Coetzee was reportedly the first South African doctor to alert authorities to patients with a new variant on November 18.
Omicron has been classified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The European Centre for Disease Control has expressed serious concerns that the new strain could significantly reduce the effectiveness of the available vaccines and increase the risk of reinfection.
In response to the news, many governments around the world have suspended passenger flights from some southern African countries, including Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Swaziland.
CLICK TO WATCH OUR VIDEO OF THE WEEK BELOW:
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
