People with the Omicron variant have 'extremely mild' symptoms and haven't had to be hospitalized yet, says the South African doctor who first reported it

• A South African doctor who first flagged the Omicron variant said her patients had mild symptoms.

• Dr. Angelique Coetzee said she also hasn't had to hospitalize anyone with the new variant yet.

• That being said, it's too early to determine the variant's risk of severe disease or possibility of evading immunity.

The South African doctor who first reported the Omicron variant has said that symptoms were so far "extremely mild" and that nobody has been hospitalized with it yet.

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of the South African Medical Association, told the BBC's "The Andrew Marr Show" on Sunday that the Omicron patients she had seen had reported feeling "extremely fatigued" with body aches and a headache.

She also said the patients did not have a cough or lose their smell or taste, which are typical symptoms of COVID-19.

"What we are seeing clinically in South Africa ... is extremely mild for us, that's mild cases," Coetzee said.

She also said she hadn't admitted anyone with the Omicron variant to the hospital yet.

Coetzee has noted, however, that it was too early to determine many factors of the new variant. She told The Guardian last week of the mild cases: "Maybe two weeks from now I will have a different opinion, but this is what we are seeing."