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This article is a prepared story. It describes an event that is scheduled or expected but has not yet occurred. Expected event: Will be developed again when new story emerges
If this article is ready to be developed, change the {{prepare}} tag to {{develop}}. If expected date December 14, 2021 has passed, the status of the article should be reconsidered. Prepared articles may (tempered by common sense, please) be subject to deletion if unsourced (with 10 days’ notice) or if unused and expired (after 5 days). |
| This article is a prepared story. It describes an event that is scheduled or expected but has not yet occurred.
Expected event: Will be developed again when new story emerges
If this article is ready to be developed, change the {{prepare}} tag to {{develop}}. If expected date December 14, 2021 has passed, the status of the article should be reconsidered. Prepared articles may (tempered by common sense, please) be subject to deletion if unsourced (with 10 days’ notice) or if unused and expired (after 5 days). |
Sunday, December 5, 2021
On Monday, health authorities across the world expressed concerns about a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, B.1.1.529 “Omicron”. This variant was first identified in South Africa from a specimen collected on November 9 and was reported to the WHO on November 24. The World Health Organisation (WHO) classified the variant as a “Variant of concern”.
This variant is termed as the “most heavily mutated variant”. Research done by Penny Moore, a virologist at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and his team spotted more than 30 mutations in the spike protein of the virus. Prof. Tulio de Oliveira, the director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa, said there was an “unusual constellation of mutations” and that it was “very different” to other variants that have circulated.The WHO designated the variant as a “variant of concern” and named it Omicron on the advice of scientists who are part of the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution.
This variant was then also discovered in Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong after South Africa. Europe also reported its first case of the Omicron variant after an Egyptian traveller tested positive after arriving in Belgium. Many countries banned flights from South Africa, citing fear of a deadly outbreak. The United Kingdom banned flights from South Africa and other adjoining countries. Soon after European nations including Austria, France, Italy, Germany and The Netherlands also banned flights from South Africa. The British Government confirmed the presence of two cases of the “Omicron” variant in the country. The German Social Affair minister said that a South African traveller had tested positive with the new variant. This comes after Germany reported more than 76 thousand COVID-19 cases in a single day. In The Netherlands, in total 14 cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed thus far, according to Hugo de Jonge, the Dutch outgoing Health, Welfare and Sport Minister. Health authorities in Madrid reported the first case of the Omicron variant in Spain. India also reported 5 confirmed cases of the new variant, according the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
No unusual symptoms have yet been associated with the variant and, as with other variants, some individuals are asymptomatic. Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of the South African Medical Association, said that the cases she had encountered of the new variant were of patients suffering from fatigue, pains and aches but none of them reported cough or change in smell or taste. Fergus Walsh wrote, “South Africa has a young population and it is encouraging that doctors there are reporting that Omicron is causing mild symptoms with no increase in hospital admissions. But we need to see what happens when the variant moves into older age groups who are the most vulnerable to Covid.” However, in an update on the variant, the World Health Organization stated “Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa”, even if it has not been determined that this is attributed to this specific variant.