South African Doc Who Discovered Omicron Variant Says the 'Hype' Is Unwarranted

South African Doctor Angelique Coetzee discusses the new Omicron variant (Credit: Reuters)

The hard left might have a difficult time using the newly-discovered Omicron variant for fearmongering purposes. Shortly after the discovery of the COVID-19 variant, at least one top medical professional is cautioning against hyping up the severity of the mutation.

Advertisement

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, National Chair of the South African Medical Association, and also one of those who discovered the Omicron variant early on, called the US’s travel bans “hasty,” as we reported Saturday. Then she told Reuters Sunday that “the hype” that’s been concocted about the variant is not warranted. Coetzee relayed that in one of the “biggest hospitals” in South Africa, only one COVID-positive patient is on a ventilator and that it hasn’t been confirmed that Omicron is the issue:

“The hype that’s been created currently out there in the media and worldwide doesn’t correlate with the clinical picture. And it doesn’t warrant to just cut us off from any traveling, and bans South Africa as if we are the villains in the whole process — should not be like that.”

She explained that based on the mild symptoms they’re seeing, “there’s no reason for panicking, as we don’t see severely ill patients.”

The doctor added:

“I also checked with the hospital, some of the hospitals in my area, and one of the biggest hospitals they only have one patient currently that’s COVID-positive on a ventilator, and they don’t even know whether it’s COVID — you know, it’s Delta- or whether it is Omicron-related.”

Newsmax reported:

Reports of the new variant have since resulted in several European countries, such as the United Kingdom, issuing travel bans on southern African countries, a ban that South Africa has strongly contested. Since Friday, the United States and some Asian nations have also banned travel from South Africa.

Advertisement

Reuters also published another piece in which Coetzee described the symptoms among seven patients at her clinic who had the Omicron variant as “very mild.” She also indicated they could be treated at home.

The doctor said one of her patients reported being “extremely fatigued” for two days and experiencing body aches and a headache.

“Symptoms at that stage was very much related to normal viral infection. And because we haven’t seen COVID-19 for the past eight to 10 weeks, we decided to test,” Coetzee said, noting that the patient ended up testing positive for the disease.

She said after more patients came to her clinic experiencing similar symptoms, she realized there was “something else going on” and has seen about two to three patients daily.

“We have seen a lot of Delta patients during the third wave. And this doesn’t fit in the clinical picture,” she explained. She continued:

“Most of them are seeing very, very mild symptoms and none of them so far have admitted patients to surgeries. We have been able to treat these patients conservatively at home.”

One particular distinction between the Omicron and Delta variants is that the former does not result in loss of smell or taste. Those with the Omicron variant also do not have a “major drop in oxygen levels,” according to Reuters.

Sounds like good news, right?

So far, the Omicron variant seems as if it will be less dangerous than the Delta variant, which has caused quite a stir. A majority of left-leaning activist media outlets rushed to the airwaves and op-ed pages to celebrate the possibility that this new variant will be less deadly than its predecessors, lauding Coetzee for her measured approach to the situation.

Advertisement

Don’t look out your window to see if pigs are flying – because that was 100% Grade A sarcasm.

Of course, the activist media isn’t reporting on this en masse. As of this writing, only CNBC, the Telegraph, and the Independent have reported on Coetzee’s remarks. We shouldn’t expect the likes of CNN, CNBC, The New York Times, or The Washington Post to inform their audiences of this information because that would be counterproductive to their “convince everyone they’re all going to die” agenda.

The only way the media might possibly decide to take a more honest, measured approach is if the majority of top medical professionals echo Coetzee’s remarks. First of all, we know that is not going to happen. Secondly, even if it did, the activist media would still try to bury it. This is yet another illustration of a fact we should never forget: They want you terrified at all costs.

Recommended

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on RedState Videos