Health Data from South Africa Suggests Omicron Variant Surge Has Passed with Few Deaths

We've been reporting all along that the data from South Africa, where Omicron was first announced last month to be a "Variant of concern," has been hopeful.

Breaking News: South Africa said health data suggested its Omicron peak had passed with no major spike in deaths, offering cautious hope to other countries.

The announcement came as part of the outlets "Covid Live Updates," indicating that "South Africa says that it has passed its fourth wave of cases, and counts few added deaths."

The data cited comes from the South African Medical Research Council.

Fareed Abdullah, who is the director of the Office of AIDS & TB Research there called the surge of Omicron "a flash flood more than a wave."

The South African Medical Research Center, as I covered earlier this month, had also noted that in Tshwane, a metropolitan area that includes the capital city of Pretoria, many hospitalizations with Omicron were "Incidental COVID admissions," meaning the person who was admitted had the virus but was admitted for something else.

"Peak in four weeks and precipitous decline in another two. This Omicron wave is over in the city of Tshwane. It was a flash flood more than a wave." The rise in deaths over the period was small, and in the last week, officials said, "Marginal."

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/rebeccadowns/2021/12/30/health-data-from-south-africa-suggests-omicron-variant-surge-has-passed-with-few-deaths-n2601247