By Hajara Umar
“Omicron is different. There is no loss of smell and taste, there is no need for oxygen at this stage, and we do not know what might happen as the cases continue increasing”.
-Dr. Angelique Cootze
Chairperson of the South African Medical Association (SAMA), Dr. Angelique Cootze said most of the patients infected with the Omicron COVID-19 variant got only mild symptoms. The unvaccinated patients however, showed relatively severe symptoms.
Cootze, who has treated 70 patients diagnosed with the new variant, said she has seen most patients with mild symptoms such as headaches, body aches and sore throats over the past two weeks.
She said these symptoms were different from the Delta variant, even though this could change as cases rose.
“This variant is more in the muscle,” she told Xinhua from NAN News on Tuesday.
Cootze said the symptoms of the new variant were worse in patients who have not been vaccinated.
“There was severe fatigue and other symptoms that were quite intense in unvaccinated people,” she said.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Monday reported 6,381 new cases of COVID-19 and 9 related fatalities in South Africa over the past 24 hours.
Health Minister, Joe Phaahla, recently said the rising cases were being driven by the new variant.
Source: NAN News