First case of Omicron likely to be confirmed today

Despite the travel restrictions, the Federal Health Office says it’s very likely the Omicron variant is already in the country, and that is likely to be confirmed before the end of the day.

A positive Covid case of a person who arrived from South Africa a week ago is now being sequenced.

The WHO says the new variant is worrying as it seems to be highly transmissible. But its effect on patients is still to be confirmed.

The chair of the South African Medical Association, Angelique Coetzee, says the cases detected in her country so far are not serious.

In an interview with the UK’s Daily Telegraph, she says the symptoms are different and is mainly showing as extreme fatigue. None of her patients have been hospitalized.

But she does stress it’s too soon to come to a conclusion.