Botswana: The majority of those tested positive for the Omicron variant were asymptomatic

A senior Botswana health official said today that 16 of the 19 people tested positive for the coronavirus variant in the country were asymptomatic and that it was “unfair” for the country to be treated as if it were the focus of the new outbreak.

Pamela Smith-Lawrence, acting director of health at the Department of Health and Wellness, said in an interview with Reuters that most of the 19 people found to be infected with the new Omicron variant are already negative.

While 16 people were asymptomatic, the other three had “very, very mild” symptoms, he said.

Botswana said on Friday it was investigating coronavirus mutations found in four foreign nationals on a diplomatic mission in the country. Since then the country has reported another 15 cases of infection with the new variant, bringing the total to 19.

Although it has not yet been determined where Omicron first appeared, on November 25 South Africa, and a day later Botsuna, announced that they had identified a new variant whose mutations were different from the dominant Delta variant.

The announcement caused travel restrictions in the southern part of Africa from many European and Asian countries, a decision criticized by both South Africa and Botswana.

The four foreign nationals, aged 30 to 65, who arrived in Botswana on November 7, tested positive on November 11 and a further examination of their samples showed new mutations on November 22, said Smith-Lawrence, who added that the government uploaded the data to the international database the same day.

“Unfortunately … the finger is now pointing to Botswana, to say that [η παραλλαγή] “It came from Botswana, or that it is a variant of Botswana, which I think is very unfair and unnecessary at the moment,” he said, adding that 14 of the 19 people identified so far with the variant were foreign nationals.

He refused to say what the nationalities of these people were or where they came from.

The official said that in the next two to three weeks the government will be able to say more clearly whether Omicron is more contagious than its predecessors or not.

Source: AMPE