The World Health Organisation says it’s not yet clear whether infection with Omicron causes more severe disease compared to other variants, including Delta.
It says preliminary data suggests there are increasing rates of hospitalisation in South Africa.
However, this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection with Omicron.
They also say that there is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants.
