Omicron COVID-19 Variant: Know the 5 key symptoms

A petrol attendant stands next to a newspaper headline in Pretoria, South Africa. As the world grapples with the emergence of the new variant of COVID-19, scientists in South Africa — where omicron was first identified — are scrambling to combat its spread across the country. (Representative image: AP)

The Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, which was first reported in South Africa, has triggered global alarm. Scientists have begun the race to figure out how dangerous this COVID-19 variant is, while countries around the world have closed borders and put further restrictions in place to keep the new variant at bay.

India too has tightened COVID-19 restrictions for international travellers from 12 “at risk” countries including South Africa, New Zealand, and China, starting December 1.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which earlier said the variant carries a "very high" risk of infection, has advised its 194 member nations that any surge in infections could have severe consequences. However, it asserted that no deaths had yet been linked to the new variant.

"Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic," the WHO said. "The overall global risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is assessed as very high," it added.

Meanwhile, an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) officer has claimed that indigenous COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin “is likely to be more effective against the highly-mutating Omicron variant” compared to other available jabs. The official, who was not named, said that since Covaxin was a virion-inactivated vaccine “it covers the entire virus and can work against this highly mutated new variant”.

So far, two cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in India; both are male patients and have mild symptoms.

Also read | 1,000 travellers from African nations landed in Mumbai in last 15 days but we got list of only 466; samples of 100 tested: BMC official

Although scientists have said that it could take weeks to understand the severity of Omicron, a general practitioner in Gauteng in South Africa said patients are having flu-like symptoms. “So far they have mostly been very mild cases, with patients having flu-like symptoms, including dry coughs, fever, night sweats, a lot of body pains,” Dr Unben Pillay said, Pillay practitioner in Gauteng province where 81 percent of the new cases have been reported.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, who first raised the alarm over Omicron, has said that symptoms of the variant are ‘extremely mild’, however, ‘unfamiliar’.

Here are the key symptoms that appeared in Omicron patients:

- Patients infected with this COVID-19 variant show extreme tiredness, which is not limited to any age group, according to Dr Coetzee.

- There are no cases having a severe drop in oxygen saturation levels. In India, a major drop in oxygen saturation levels was reported among patients during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also read | Hong Kong expands travel curbs on Omicron fears, Australia reports 5 cases

- Patients have reported mild muscle aches, a “scratchy throat” and dry cough, Dr Coetzee told news agency AFP.

- Only a few patients have reported a slightly high temperature, the doctor said.

- Most patients of Omicron strain have recovered without hospitalisation, say doctors, according to Dr Unben Pillay.