The newest Covid variant, Omicron, was first spotted in South Africa less than three weeks ago and now the entire world is on high alert as they watch what happens.
News that cases of Omicron were popping up around the world sent the markets into turmoil on Friday and sparked travel bans.
Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a board member of the South African Medical Association, first noticed otherwise healthy patients demonstrating unusual symptoms on November 18. She reported that this newest variant presents “unusual but mild” symptoms.
Mild symptoms have sparked travel bans and New York to go into a state of emergency.
“Their symptoms were so different and so mild from those I had treated before,” Coetzee told The Telegraph.
“It presents mild disease with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two not feeling well,” Coetzee explained. “So far, we have detected that those infected do not suffer the loss of taste or smell. They might have a slight cough. There are no prominent symptoms. Of those infected some are currently being treated at home.”
“So far, we have detected that those infected do not suffer the loss of taste or smell. They might have a slight cough.”
“Yes, it is transmissible, but for now, as medical practitioners, we do not know why so much hype is being driven as we are still looking into it. We will only know after two to three weeks as there are some patients admitted and these are young people aged 40 and younger,” she added.
Hong Kong reported the first Omicron case last week when a 36-year-old man who recently traveled to South Africa, who was asymptomatic and fully vaccinated with Pfizer in June, passed the virus to another fully vaccinated traveler who was symptomatic and tested positive.
While we haven’t had any cases show up in the US as of yet Fraudci believes that it’s already here.
“We have not detected it yet,” Anthony Fauci said, “but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility and you’re already having travel-related cases that they’ve noted in Israel and Belgium and other places when you have a virus like this, it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over.”
Botswana’s health ministry also confirmed four Omicron cases among fully vaccinated travelers in a statement on Friday.
The WHO labeled Omicron a “variant of concern” on Friday — a designation given to variants like Delta that require close scrutiny from public-health officials.
Coetzee reported she had had two dozen patients test positive for Covid and displayed the newest symptoms. She reported her findings to officials which the WHO designated as Omicron on Friday.
