Omicron: The symptoms to be on the look out for

Since the Omicron variant reached our shores daily case numbers of Covid-19 have surged to record breaking levels, as of January 7 there are an estimated 330, 289 active cases in Australia, 3482 hospitalisations with 257 currently in the intensive care unit.

The Omicron variant was first reported in South Africa on November 24,  2021 and it quickly spread around the world.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Omicron to be a COVID-19 variant of concern given the speed at which it spreads, early reports indicate the severity of Omicron symptoms are mild.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) a wide range of symptoms have been reported, from people who have contracted Covid-19, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may can 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Anyone can have mild to severe symptoms. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

The signs of Omicron appear to be similar to previous strains with some slight differences with the strain appearing to be less severe than previous variants:

• Cough
• Fatigue
• Runny nose and congestion
• Night sweats
• Less likely to have a loss of taste or smell

Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently announced the levels of COVID-19 patients being treated in intensive care and on ventilators remained stable following the rise in cases.

“It’s important that with the rising case numbers, we see that the severeness of this illness is already being shown to be around 75 per cent less than what we saw with Delta,” he told 7 News.

“Rising case numbers are part of the Omicron period, it’s part of the new phase of the pandemic we’re in.”