Omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus, is now dominant in South Africa and is causing a sharp rise in new infections, health officials say.
About 8,500 new cases of Covid were registered according to the latest data regarding the total daily infections. This figure is almost double the 4,300 confirmed cases the day before. A few weeks ago, in mid-November, infections recorded daily averaged 200 to 300.
The omicron variant has been drawing the attention of specialists due to the number and variety of genetic mutations. There are still many questions, however, about the new variant — such as how severe the infection it causes and whether it will be able to evade the effects of the vaccines currently in use.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has classified omicron as a “variant of concern” and says that preliminary evidence suggests that there is an increased risk of reinfection. The variant has already been detected in at least 24 countries around the world, according to the organization.
South Africa was the first country to detect the new highly mutated variant. South Africa’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said more than 70% of all virus genomes it sequenced last month were from the micron.
India, Ghana, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among the latest countries to confirm their first cases of the variant. Other countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, have also identified people infected with the new variant. In Brazil, at least three cases linked to the new variant have already been confirmed.
Unknowns
In that context, experts expect an increase in the rate of new infections in this fourth wave of Covid in South Africa, and the National Department of Health says there has also been a slight increase in hospital admissions.
For BBC health correspondent Nick Triggle, it’s still hard to say what this all means for the rest of the world, given that South Africa has had a wave driven by another variant (beta) that hasn’t taken off elsewhere.
Epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim of the Africa Task Force for Coronavirus says that, as with the beta and delta variants, the full picture in South Africa will not be clear until “people stay so sick that they have to go to the hospital”, which is usually “three, four weeks later”.
“But the feedback we’re getting is that there are really no warning signs — we’re not seeing anything dramatically different, what we’re seeing is what we’re used to,” he told the BBC’s Newsday programme.
Scientists and authorities around the world are paying attention to what is happening in southern Africa, seeking to understand the characteristics and possible effects of the new variant.
The South African doctor who first identified the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, Angelique Coetzee, said patients infected so far have shown “extremely mild symptoms” — but explained that more time is still needed to assess the effect in vulnerable people.
Specialists have been warning that there are still not enough elements to determine whether the new variant tends to generate more or less serious infections.
On Wednesday (1st), WHO technical leader for Covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, highlighted that it is still too early to understand the properties of the variant and that the entity is evaluating data sent daily by different countries.
Van Kerkhove said there is evidence that the strain may be more transmissible, but more studies are needed to be sure. “We hope to have more information about the transmission in a few days, not necessarily weeks.”
The specialist avoided commenting on the severity level of the variant, also due to lack of data. “We have seen reports of omicron cases ranging from mild illness to severe illness. There is some indication that some of the patients are having mild illness (…) but then again, it is still early.”
The majority of people who have been hospitalized in South Africa have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to the NICD.
There is no shortage of vaccines in the country, and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for more people to be vaccinated, saying it remains the best way to fight the virus. About 24% of South Africans have already been fully vaccinated — far more than the 6% average recorded on the African continent in October, but below the latest European average of 54%.
travel restrictions
In recent days, countries around the world have restricted travel from southern Africa as details of the spread surfaced.
This led South Africa’s Foreign Ministry to complain that it was being punished — rather than applauded — for discovering the variant. Ramaphosa said he was “deeply disappointed” by the travel bans, which he described as unjustified.
The head of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also warned that the measures were penalizing southern Africa.
Last Friday (26) Brazil announced the closing of flights from six countries in southern Africa. And the USA, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom are among those who announced a sequence of restrictions on travel and flights from places where there are already confirmed cases of infection by this new type of coronavirus.
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