The course of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant may indicate that the world is on the verge of a pandemic. This is the conclusion of a report by doctors from the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in the capital of the Republic of South Africa – Pretoria, News24 reports.
“If Omicron’s pattern of behavior in South Africa is replicated in other countries, then this coronavirus variant could herald the end of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report said. It also states that in South Africa the strain has grown at an unprecedented rate, reaching a peak in four weeks. Nevertheless the disease was milder than other variants of the coronavirus.
For the WHO, Omicron is unlikely to be the last option, vaccination is insufficient
Therefore, “unfortunately, there are still many opportunities for the spread of the virus and the emergence of new variants”
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South African doctors note that during the fourth wave of the pandemic, which began in mid-November with Omicron, only 466 people were admitted to Steve Biko Academic Hospital, up from 3,976 earlier. At the same time, the mortality rate was 4.5%, compared with 21.3% in previous coronavirus waves. Omicron-infected patients spent an average of 4 days in hospital, compared with 8.8 days in earlier versions of COVID-19. 63% of the hospitalized have been admitted with other diseases and only subsequent tests have revealed that they also have COVID-19.
The report states that in many people, Omicron-induced coronavirus is asymptomatic.
