HealthCoronavirus

Actions

COVID-19 Omicron Cases Fall In South Africa

Experts believe the surge from the variant may have passed as cases dropped by nearly 12,000 since last week.
Posted at 3:14 PM, Dec 22, 2021

In South Africa, cases  from the COVID-19 Omicron variant have plunged after hitting a high of nearly 27,000 cases last week. That figure dropped to about 15,000 Tuesday.

The decrease comes just weeks after the Omicron variant was discovered there and experts believe it shows it has passed its peak. 

"We see huge number of infections," researcher Marta Nunes said. "But when you look at hospitalizations and other severity markers for disease, we don't really see severe cases with Omicron."

Omicron has been detected in at least 89 countries and is now the most common variant in the U.S.