A senior South African doctor has said it would be a "first prize" if the Omicron variant of COVID-19 out-competed other mutations.
Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association (SAMA), saw some of the first patients with the new variant in her clinic in the capital Pretoria.
She told Sputnik on Monday that while much was still uncertain, a repeat of the trend in Gauteng province — where the previously-dominant Delta variant has been rapidly displaced by the more-transmissible Omicron — could be beneficial.
"Currently it is unknown whether it would replace Delta," Dr Coetzee said, but added: "If so, it would be a first prize, as we are currently experiencing most cases as mild."
The SAMA chair has previously said the new variant is "extremely mild", with atypical symptoms for COVID-19 such as a scratchy cough and muscle pains — typical of commons colds and flu.
Dr Coetzee said health experts would "know more within then next week or two what the situation regarding severe cases would entail".
And she cautioned that the spread of the micron among unvaccinated people could lead to new and unpredictable strains of the virus emerging.
"If people are not vaccinated, we will most probably see new variants with unknown mutations," Dr Coetzee said.
28 November 2021, 17:52 GMT
Some political commentators have already speculated that the more competitive yet less virulent strain will become dominant and end the pandemic — along with public lockdowns and other restrictions.
The Omicron variant is now conformed to have spread to 51 countries on all six inhabited continents, despite punitive travel bans imposed by many states on 10 southern African nations.
British Health Secretary Sajid Javid was forced to admit in Parliament on Monday that none of the 336 cases of Omicron in the UK had yet resulted in a hospitalisation.
Conservative MP for New Forest West Sir Desmond Swayne asked Javid in simple terms how many of the 336 identified cases of the Omicron variant in the UK “are ill”
The minister said that while all were by definition “infected”, none had so far been hospitalised.
Public Health England is currently recording around one hospitalisation with COVID-19 for every 60 identified cases in the UK, where the Delta variant is currently the most common.
The British government's response to the new variant has been to reimpose mandatory mask-wearing in shops and on public transport, while urging all residents to get a third booster dose of the vaccines.