Omicron variant, mild symptoms and fewer hospitalizations: data and news South Africa

The Omicron variant causes milder covid symptoms and appears to have a lower hazard. The first data arrives from South Africa that diminish the alarm. Less than a third of Covid patients admitted during the last wave have severe symptoms: in the initial phase of the previous two waves, the proportion rose to two thirds. Data released by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), in the Pretoria area, refer to 1,633 hospitalizations between November 14 and December 8. Severe cases represent 31% of the total: these are infected people who need oxygen or mechanical ventilation. Read also In the initial phase of the first and second wave, the percentage reached 67 and 66 respectively. The data are part of a study not subjected to peer review and it is not excluded that severe cases may increase in the coming days: a more complete and clear picture. The report does not refer to the eventual vaccination of patients, so it is not clear how much the vaccine can limit the severity of the disease. In South Africa, as the Guardian points out, covid cases have increased by 255% in the last week. According to other data, the surge in infections did not produce a significant increase in intensive care admissions, as evidenced by the picture outlined by Netcare, one of the pillars of private healthcare in the country. “About 90% of the patients admitted to our hospitals do not need oxygen,” Richard Friedland tells the Daily Maverick. “If this trend is confirmed, the fourth wave can be managed adequately” at the level of the non-critical area. In previous waves, 26% of Covid patients needed intensive care in the group’s hospitals.