Hiroshima Prefecture: Omicron more likely to show symptoms, 10% asymptomatic
Hiroshima Prefecture has analyzed the symptoms of 405 COVID-19 patients who are thought to be highly likely to have contracted the Omicron variant.
68% of the sample had temperatures over 37.5ºC, slightly more than in the case of the Delta variant, but it seems that sore throat, running nose and lethargy are more common in Omicron than Delta. Asymptomatic cases of Omicron are at 10% – less than in the case of Delta, but authorities are calling on anyone showing even slight symptoms to have themselves examined. Only 1% of cases are exhibiting loss of taste and smell.
| Symptom | Omicron | Delta |
| Fever | 68% | 64% |
| Cough | 52% | 46% |
| Sore throat | 52% | 34% |
| Lethargy | 38% | 29% |
| Headache | 35% | 30% |
| Runny nose | 29% | 17% |
| Muscle soreness | 24% | 12% |
| Diarrhea | 5% | 6% |
| Breathing difficulty | 4% | 6% |
| Loss of taste/smell | 1% | 6% |
| Loss of appetite | 1% | 1% |
| Red eye | 1% | 1% |
| Asymptomatic | 10% | 15% |
In terms of age, of 4191 cases confirmed between December 21 and January 12, people under 50 make up around 80% of cases with people in their 20s accounting for 33% of all cases. The majority of the 24 patients (less than 1%) that have required oxygen have been in over 50 years old. Although, compared to the 6.6% of patients that required oxygen during the Delta wave, it seems that Omicron does not result in as many serious cases, authorities warn that relaxing precautions based on this assumption too early could put the prefecture’s elderly population at risk.
Source: Chugoku Shinbun
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