A South African doctor who was one of the first to suspect a different coronavirus strain among patients has said that symptoms of the Omicron variant were so far mild and could be treated at home.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of the South African Medical Association, told Reuters that on November 18 she noticed seven patients at her clinic who had symptoms different from the dominant Delta variant, albeit "very mild".

Coetzee said a patient on Nov 18 reported at her clinic being "extremely fatigued" for two days with body aches and headache.

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