South African doctor says patients with Omicron variant have "very mild" symptoms

FILE PHOTO: A passenger in a taxi wears a face mask with colours of the South African flag after the announcement of a British ban on flights from South Africa because of the detection of a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) variant, in Soweto, South Africa, November 26, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African doctor who was one of the first to suspect a different coronavirus strain among patients said on Sunday that symptoms of the Omicron variant were so far mild and could be treated at home.

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of South African Medical Association, told Reuters that on Nov. 18 she noticed seven patients at her clinic who had symptoms different from the dominant Delta variant, albeit "very mild".