Contrary to what we’re told the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus results in only mild disease, without prominent symptoms, according to Angelique Coetzee, the chairwoman of the South African Medical Association.
“It presents mild disease with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two not feeling well. So far, we have detected that those infected do not suffer 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”, Coetzee told Sputnik.
“We will only know this after two weeks. 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”, Coetzee added.
The chairwoman also criticised the decision by some countries to ban flights from South Africa as premature, because there is not enough information on how dangerous it is.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday indentified the new South African strain as one of concern, as it is reported to carry a high number of mutations — 32 — which possibly makes it more transmissible and dangerous. The WHO has dubbed it Omicron.
South Africa on Sunday said that it was being punished for reporting the virus.
South Africa has some of the best virology facilities in the world.
Graeme Codrington said this months ago when a previous variant was identified by South African virologists. A note to journalists who peddle myths on South African variants. These words still hold true.#Omicron pic.twitter.com/KtYzlleX2r— James Melville 🚜 (@JamesMelville) November 27, 2021
As facts about the spread surfaced, governments throughout the world banned travel from southern Africa, prompting the foreign ministry to issue the announcement.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in a statement urged world leaders not to implement “knee-jerk” policy decisions in response to the detection of the Omicron variant.
The latest round of travel bans is “akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker. Excellent science should be applauded and not punished,” it said.