The Latest: S. Africa doctor sees mild symptoms from omicron

JOHANNESBURG — South African doctors say that the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases attributed to the new omicron variant cases is resulting in mostly mild symptoms.

Dr. Unben Pillay, a general practitioner in Gauteng province where 81% of the new cases have been reported, says he has seen a sharp increase in new COVID-19 cases in the past 10 days.

He said that so far the cases have been very mild cases, with patients having flu-like symptoms, dry coughs, fever, night sweats, a lot of body pains. He said most have been treated at home.

He also said that the vaccinated are faring much better than the unvaccinated.

The recent surge in South Africa has been among people in their 20s and 30s and doctors emphasize that COVID-19 symptoms are often mild in that age group.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— Nations around the world seek to keep new omicron variant at bay even as it remains unclear what it means for the pandemic

— AP explains what is known and not known about the new COVID-19 variant

— Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year

— Why WHO skipped ‘nu,’ ‘xi’ for new COVID variant

— See all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will urge Americans to get vaccinated and to receive a booster shot as he seeks to quell concerns over the new COVID-19 variant omicron. But he won’t immediately push for more restrictions to stop its spread, his chief medical adviser said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and Biden’s leading COVID-19 adviser, said there were still no cases of the variant identified in the U.S. but...