Omicron hope: New study from South Africa shows "very encouraging data"

Created: 12/22/2021, 3:27 PM

By: Patrick Huljina

Omikron is more infectious than the previous Corona variants.

However, the course of the disease seems to be milder - new data from South Africa also suggest this.

Johannesburg - Omikron creates a new dimension in the Corona * pandemic.

This was last said by the virologist Sandra Ciesek * in her NDR podcast.

The new variant is significantly more contagious than the previously known.

An omicron wave is already sweeping across Europe.

In some countries the variant is already dominant, in others it is imminent.

It allows the number of infections to rise to new record levels.

The hope: Omikron is more infectious than Delta, for example, but should trigger a milder course of the disease.

New data from South Africa now seem to confirm this hope.

Omikron: “Very encouraging data” indicate milder developments

According to the authors of the study, an analysis of the data available up to the end of November shows that there is an up to 80 percent lower chance of having to go to hospital for treatment.

"The very encouraging data strongly suggest a lower severity of the omicron wave of infection," said Cheryl Cohen of South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Wednesday (December 22nd).

However, she warned that the data are still early and that more studies are needed.

The vaccinated Omikron patients would also have a 70 percent chance of avoiding treatment in the intensive care unit.

Data from South Africa indicate milder omicron courses.

Vaccinations also help.

© Shiraaz Mohamed / dpa

Omikron: Case numbers in South Africa's epicenter are falling

With the onset of the summer holidays in South Africa, Omikron is now spreading nationwide - but seems to be losing momentum in the previous epicenter around the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria (Gauteng Province). "Yes, the number of cases in Gauteng Province has been falling for over a week - so I think we have the peak of the fourth wave behind us there," said Cohen. But it is still too early to speak of reaching the peak of the fourth wave of Corona * infections nationwide.

In South Africa, Omikron dominates the infection process.

The greater area around the metropolis of Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria had a share of up to 80 percent of the daily new corona infections * nationwide.

However, the number of hospital admissions is well below that of previous corona waves.

The number of stays in hospital also fell significantly to an average of three to four days, according to the study.

Germany worried about the Omikron wave: New contact restrictions

In Germany there is great concern about an impending omicron wave.

Experts fear “not a wave, but a wall”.

RKI boss Lothar Wieler spoke at the federal press conference of a "not yet seen dynamic".

At the Corona summit on Tuesday (December 21), new contact restrictions * were decided - also for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.