Omicron is now by far the dominant strain in the country. The latest infections have occurred “mostly in the younger age groups but we are starting to see this move into the older age groups," Michelle Groome, head of public health surveillance and response at the NICD, told the lawmakers. “We are also expecting that the more severe complications may not present themselves for a few weeks." On Nov.
25, the South African government and scientists announced that a new variant, later christened omicron by the World Health Organization, had been found in the country.
That triggered an equity market sell-off and led to the imposition of travel bans on several southern African nations. Richard Lessells, an infectious disease specialist at the