South Africa, where the Omicron coronavirus variant is driving a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, has seen a 255% increase in infections in the past seven days, but only 6% of intensive care beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, WHO Africa official Thierno Balde said on Thursday.
Balde's comments at a news conference follow early anecdotal accounts by South African doctors and researchers that Omicron is causing mainly mild disease.
(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie Writing by Alexander Winning Editing by James Macharia Chege)
