In November, Dr Coetzee said fatigue was one of the main symptoms her patients were reporting.

She told AFP a scratchy throat, mild headache and body aches were also noted in people who tested positive for the variant.

Dr Coetzee, who is also on the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Vaccines, said unlike the Delta variant so far patients have not reported loss of smell or taste and there has been no major drop in oxygen levels with the new variant.

Epidemiologist Professor Tim Spector says he has also seen a similar thing happening in areas like London where Omicron is dominant.

"The majority of people testing PCR positive have cold-like symptoms, and they do not have the classical triad of the old COVID symptoms of fever, loss of smell and taste, and persistent cough," he said.

He said it will look "just like a severe cold to many people", with the majority of symptoms similar to a common cold, including headaches, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue and sneezing.

"Don't wait for a temperature, loss of smell, or cough - more than 50% of people in London never get those symptoms, and yet they're testing positive," he warns.

("warns"???)

He said in London, people with cold symptoms are more likely to have COVID than a cold.

It's possible I have it right now.