On Omicron, A New Warning From South African Scientists
NDTV
The true impact of coronavirus strain is currently hard to determine because it has so far mostly affected young people, who are better able to fight off the pathogen, and people tend to get sicker after carrying the virus for some time, the scientists said.
Leading South African scientists warned it is still too early to determine that the omicron variant will only cause mild illness.
The true impact of the coronavirus strain is currently hard to determine because it has so far mostly affected young people, who are better able to fight off the pathogen, and people tend to get sicker after carrying the virus for some time, the scientists said in a presentation to lawmakers on Wednesday.
Earlier the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said the daily number of new confirmed cases in South Africa almost doubled to 8,561 infections in the last 24 hours. Omicron is now by far the dominant strain in the country.
The latest infections have occurred "mostly in the younger age groups but we are starting to see this move into the older age groups," Michelle Groome, head of public health surveillance and response at the NICD, told the lawmakers. "We are also expecting that the more severe complications may not present themselves for a few weeks."
