Countries around the world slammed their doors shut again to try to keep the new omicron variant at bay Monday, even as more cases of the mutant coronavirus emerged and scientists raced to figure out just how dangerous it might be.
Highlights
- Govt body said they are extending the booster shots to adults aged 18 to 39 years old
- Omicron patients reporting mild muscle aches, a scratchy throat, and dry cough
- There is also no major drop in oxygen saturation levels, reports say
All adults in Britain will now be able to get a third Covid jab, a government scientific advisory body said Monday, amid the Omicron scare.
The government body said that they are extending the booster shots to adults aged 18 to 39 years old, AFP reported.
As fear grows over a new Covid variant now known as Omicron, doctors in South Africa have observed first symptoms of this new and deadly strain that are different from the Delta one.
Although yet to be officially listed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), patients infected with this strain show extreme tiredness, among other noticeable symptoms.
"This is not limited to any age group. Young patients also show extreme tiredness," according to Angelique Coetzee, Chairperson of the South African Medical Association.
There is also no major drop in oxygen saturation levels, Coetzee said in media reports.
The Omicron patients also reported mild muscle aches, a scratchy throat, and dry cough, according to the doctor.
The patients that Coetzee treated were mostly men, aged under 40, and around half of them were even vaccinated.
Although in a ray of hope, the doctors in South Africa said most patients of Omicron strain have recovered without hospitalisation.
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