No evidence yet that Omicron is 'deadlier' —infectious disease expert

There is no evidence yet that the Omicron coronavirus variant is "deadlier" compared to other variants, an infectious disease expert said on Monday. 

During a Palace briefing, Dr. Edsel Salvana explained that further studies are needed to determine whether Omicron is as severe as or is less severe than the Delta variant.

"Mayroong mixed data talaga on whether itong pagtaas ng cases in different parts of Africa is because of enhanced tracing or if tunay po talaga na ang Omicron ang nagdra-drive nito," Salvana said.

(There's mixed data on whether the spike in COVID-19 cases in different parts of Africa was because of the enhanced tracing or due to Omicron.)

"Sa ngayon, wala pong ebidensya na ito ay deadlier or causes more severe disease. Nakita nga po nila na may indikasyon na baka mas mild 'yung disease although nakita nila ito sa mas bata. Alam naman natin sa bata mas mild talaga," he added.

(At present, there's no evidence yet that Omicron is deadlier or that it causes more severe disease. It was even seen that there were indications that this variant causes mild disease although this was seen among children. We already know however that in children, COVID-19 is milder.)

The B.1.1.529 variant is being blamed for the surge of infections in South Africa. The World Health Organization already designated Omicron as a variant of concern, and it said it is not yet clear if it is more transmissible compared to other SARS-CoV-2 variants or if it causes more severe disease.

Many countries are already closing borders to contain Omicron.

The Philippines has imposed travel restrictions over Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique amid the threat of the variant. —KG, GMA News