'Spreads Like Delta Or Worse': Doctor Who Sounded 'Omicron' Alarm To NDTV

'Omicron' has been detected in younger people, under the age of 13, but they are not severely ill, the doctor said.

'Omicron', the new Covid variant first found in South Africa, does not have the same symptoms one would normally see in the Delta variant, the doctor who alerted government scientists to the possibility of a new variant told NDTV. Mild symptoms like fatigue and body ache have been reported but there are no complaints of stuffy noise and patients who contracted the new strain don't seem to have high temperatures, she added. 

Dr Angelique Coetzee, the chairperson of the South African Medical Association, said that people shouldn't panic and see a doctor even if they suspect they have contracted 'Omicron'. "These symptoms get better on their own," she said. 

Dr Coetzee said that she can say with some confidence that the new strain is at least just as transmissible as the Delta variant. 

"We're not disputing the transmissibility. It's difficult for me to say it's worse than Delta but it's just as transmissible as the Delta variant at this stage. The scientists might tell you that it's more and that's fine. The fact is that it is transmissible and more than the beta variant," she said.