Omicron milder than Delta, say South African doctors

Medical scientists prepare to sequence Covid-19 Omicron samples at the Ndlovu Research Centre in Elandsdoorn, South Africa. Pic/AP

As the Omicron variant sweeps through South Africa, Dr Unben Pillay is seeing dozens of sick patients a day. Yet, he hasn't had to send anyone to the hospital. That's one of the reasons why he, along with other doctors and medical experts, suspect that the Omicron version really is causing milder Covid-19 than Delta, even if it seems to be spreading faster.

"They are able to manage the disease at home," Pillay said of his patients. "Most have recovered within the 10 to 14-day isolation period," said Pillay. And that includes older patients and those with health problems that can make them more vulnerable to becoming severely ill from a Coronavirus infection, he said. In the two weeks since Omicron first was reported in Southern Africa, other doctors have shared similar stories. All caution that while it will take many more weeks to collect enough data to be sure, their observations and the early evidence offer some clues.

According to South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases, only about 30 per cent of those hospitalised with Covid-19 in recent weeks have been seriously ill, less than half the rate of that during the first weeks of previous pandemic waves. "At the moment, virtually everything points toward it being milder disease," says Willem Hanekom, director of the Africa Health Research Institute, said, citing the national institute's figures and other reports. "It's early days, and we need to get the final data. Often hospitalisations and deaths happen later, and we are only two weeks into this wave."

In the meantime, scientists around the world are watching case counts and hospitalisation rates, while testing to see how well current vaccines and treatments hold up. While Delta is still the dominant Coronavirus strain worldwide, Omicron cases are popping up in dozens of countries, with South Africa being the epicentre.

Omicron found in California before WHO declaration

The test result of a wastewater sample from California showed that the Omicron Covid-19 strain was present in the US state even before the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it the newest ‘variant of concern', a media report said citing official sources. The Omicron variant was detected in a sample of wastewater collected in Merced County on November 25, the California Department of Public Health said in a statement to The Los Angeles Times. That's one day after South Africa reported the variant to the WHO, and a day before the agency labelled Omicron as a ‘Variant of Concern,' the report stated. They also added that the variant was also detected in wastewater samples collected in Sacramento County. Sampling wastewater for Coronavirus-related particles is used to track pandemic trends.

26,96,53,514
Total number of cases Worldwide as of Saturday

53,15,679
Total no. of deaths due worlwide

24,25,67,964
Patients recovered worlwide as of Saturday

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