Omicron has a larger number of mutations than the delta variant of the coronavirus. (File)
Preliminary data from a large hospital complex in the omicron epicenter of South Africa suggest that while Number of Covid-19 cases has spiked, patients need less medical intervention.
The Steve Biko and Tshwane district hospital complex in Pretoria had 166 new cases of hospitalization between November 14 and November 29, with 42 patients currently in Covid wards, according to a report showing the early experience of patients in the hospital group. Most initially sought treatment for illnesses unrelated to the coronavirus and were found to have it in the test required for hospitalization.
This represents only the first two weeks of the omicron wave in Tshwane, and “the clinical profile of hospitalized patients could change dramatically over the next two weeks,” said paper author Fareed Abdullah, director of the hospital. South African Medical Research Council and an Infectious Disease. Sick doctor at Steve Biko hospital. The report has not been peer-reviewed.
While the National Institute of Infectious Diseases has confirmed that most new cases at the epicenter are a variant, Abdullah and his team were unable to determine that in all cases the variation was omicrons. Even so, a “reasonable assumption is being made that the cases” in this data represent infections with the new variant, Abdullah said.
Key observations include:
- Most patients in the Covid ward are not dependent on oxygen – a difference from previous episodes.
- Of the 38 adults in the Covid ward as of December 2, six were vaccinated, 24 were unvaccinated, and eight had unknown vaccination status.
- Only one patient on oxygen was fully vaccinated but required intervention for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Two people have been admitted to intensive care within the past two weeks, but neither has been diagnosed with Covid-19 pneumonia.
- No less than 80% of hospitalized people are under 59 years of age. Approximately 19% were children under 9 years of age and 28% were patients aged 30 to 39 years.
- Covid pediatric wards reported no deaths in the past two weeks. Children accounted for 17% of deaths in the previous 18 months
- Ten patients died, or 6.6%, although omicrons have yet to be identified
- The death toll could rise. The trend should become clearer over the next two weeks – enough time to see if cases worsen.
- The average length of stay in Covid wards is 2.8 days compared with 8.5 days in the past 18 months.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
