NAIROBI (Reuters) – South Africa, where the Omicron coronavirus variant is driving a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, has seen a 255% increase in infections in the past seven days, but only 6% of intensive care beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, WHO Africa official Thierno Balde said on Thursday.
Balde’s comments at a news conference follow early anecdotal accounts by South African doctors and researchers that Omicron is causing mainly mild disease.
(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by James Macharia Chege)
