Why the rapid spread of ‘mild’ Omicron is cause for alarm

The coronavirus variant’s high rate of transmission has scientists worried that health care systems will be overwhelmed

They also warn it is still too early to tell how dangerous the latest strain of the virus may be to vulnerable groups

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Even small percentages of the highly viral Omicron variant would add up to big numbers of cases overall. Photo: AP

Published: 12:00pm, 16 Dec 2021Updated: 12:28pm, 16 Dec 2021

In just three weeks since the world became aware of a new variant of the coronavirus which causes Covid-19, Omicron has demonstrated a stunning pace of growth.

The World Health Organization warned member states on Sunday that Omicron appears to have a growth advantage over Delta – an already highly transmissible variant of the virus – and predicts it is likely to outcompete its predecessor where community transmission occurs.

But along with the high rate of transmission, Omicron appears to bring seemingly less severe clinical outcomes.

In South Africa, ground zero for Omicron, early findings suggested the variant may cause less severe illness. So far only one death has been directly linked to Omicron, recorded in Britain, and symptoms appear to be mild.

In addition, 10 out of 4,713 cases due to Omicron in Britain as of Monday were hospitalised and all 1,686 Omicron cases reported by the European Union CDC, also as of Monday, were either asymptomatic or mild.

But scientists cautioned it was too early to conclude that Omicron would make people less sick – with case numbers too low, limited data, and its impact on the population not fully represented.

Even if Omicron is eventually confirmed to cause less severe illness, a variant more transmissible than Delta will not be a blessing but a threat, they said.

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