Although it's been said to be the most mutated version of the coronavirus to date, the doctor who first discovered the new variant believes that Brits are 'panicking unnecessarily.'
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Is the UK overreacting?
Even with preliminary research showing that the Omicron variant is more transmissible and more resistant to jabs, Dr Angelique Coetzee has reported all cases she treated to have been 'extremely mild.'
As per her first experience with the variant while treating a man in his early thirties, symptoms showcased did not include any of the usual linked to the virus. Instead, the man in question only suffered from a mild headache and tiredness. She explained that:
What we are seeing clinically in South Africa, and remember I’m at the epicentre—that’s where I’m practising—it’s extremely mild. For us, that’s mild cases.
And added:
I think you already have it there in your country and you’re not knowing it, and I would say, yes, at this stage I would say definitely. Two weeks from now maybe we will say something different.
Harsh travel bans
What's more, South Africa's health minister Joe Phaahla believes that restrictions that have been imposed onto his own country and others of the same continent were 'uncalled-for.'
As recently reported, cases have already been found in Belgium, Canada and the UK, so this form of discrimination will not aid in the battle against the virus, according to Phaahla. He explains that halting the spread of a new variant will be close to impossible, as has been seen in the past with the Delta variant, for example. He said:
We’ve been here before. We’ve seen in practice that it doesn’t work.
And added:
The US did that in the beginning of Covid-19 ... and many other countries followed ... but in the end, throughout the various waves of Covid-19, we’ve come to terms with the fact that even by the time we were informed by the scientists of this variant, it was gone, it was already everywhere.
