They also posit one reason the variant was found in South Africa—SA is pretty good at virology, thank you very much.
From India's WION News:
Covid: Omicron variant causing mild disease, says South African Medical Association, slams hype
South African Medical Association (SAMA) said that the new Omicron variant of coronavirus resulted in mild disease without prominent syndromes and slammed the hype around it as several countries imposed bans on flight from African countries.
"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," Angelique Coetzee, the chairwoman of SAMA was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency.
"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.
She criticised the decision by some countries to ban flights from South Africa as premature as there is not enough information on how dangerous it is.World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday identified the new strain of coronavirus as Omicron. The WHO said that the new strain was 'a variant of concern.' The new strain was detected in South Africa. The virus has been seen to show more mutations - over 30 - than previous variants and is feared to be more dangerous.
"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 said.
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.
— James Melville (@JamesMelville) November 27, 2021
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
....MUCH MORE
If interested see also Friday's commentary:
Capital Markets: "Covid Strikes Back"
"It's not yet clear if this B.1.1529 Covid variant, dubbed "Nu," is more infectious or deadly"
