Omicron COVID-19 Variant: Know the 5 key symptoms
Omicron variant of coronavirus, which was first reported in South Africa has triggered global alarm. Scientists have begun the race to figure out how dangerous this Covid-19 varieant is, while countries around the world have closed borders and put further restrictions in place to keep the new variant at bay.
The World Health Organization (WHO) which earlier said the variant carries a "very high" risk of infection, has advised its 194 member nations that any surge in infections could have severe consequences. However, it asserted that no deaths had yet been linked to the new variant.
"Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic," the WHO said.
"The overall global risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is assessed as very high," it said.
Although scientists have said that it could take weeks to understand the severity of Omicron, a general practitioner in Gauteng in South Africa said patients are having flu-like symptoms. “So far they have mostly been very mild cases, with patients having flu-like symptoms, including dry coughs, fever, night sweats, a lot of body pains,” Dr Unben Pillay said, Pillay practitioner in Gauteng province where 81 percent of the new cases have been reported.
Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, who first raised the alarm over Omicron, has said that symptoms of the variant are ‘extremely mild’, however, ‘unfamiliar’.
Here are the key symptoms that appeared in Omicron patients:
- Patients infected with this COVID-19 variant show extreme tiredness, which is not limited to any age group, according to Dr Coetzee.
- There is no cases having a severe drop in oxygen saturation levels. In India, a major drop in oxygen saturation levels was reported among patients during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Patients have reported mild muscle aches, a “scratchy throat” and dry cough, Dr Coetzee told news agency AFP.
- Only a few patients have reported a slightly high temperature, the doctor said.
- Most patients of Omicron strain have recovered without hospitalisation, say doctors, according to Dr Unben Pillay.