South Africa Omicron data should not be extrapolated to all countries

Data from South Africa suggests that Omicron may be 70-80 per cent less severe than Delta

Data from South Africa which suggests the Omicron variant is 70-80 per cent less severe than Delta should not be extrapolated to all countries, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control said on Thursday.

“This is early days and public health practice is local.” He said that factors such as the young median age of the South African population could be playing a part in what was being observed.