Omicron Already Exists In South Africa, But Beach Music Festival Continues, 36 New Cases Appear

Pantyhose illustration (Photo by Kimson Doan on Unsplash)

JAKARTA - South Africa is in the spotlight of the world because it has successfully detected the Omicron variant that can trigger a spike in infections. Instead of fear, the celebration of music festivals for young people on the coast of South Africa continues.

The festival is held on Wednesday December 1st. And instantly, 36 people who tested positive for COVID-19 were found from that location, as reported by Channel News Asia. Finally the organizers stopped this event.

The increase in the number of infections in this country is indeed soaring. Monday 29 November there were more than 2,200 new cases. The next day, 4,373 new cases were detected.

Omicron is expected to trigger a fourth wave, with daily infections seen hitting 10,000 by the end of the week.

The Ballito Rage music festival kicked off on Tuesday in the city of Ballito, north of Durban on South Africa's east coast. Of the 940 people who were tested for COVID-19 during the first eight hours of the event, 32 guests and four staff tested positive. It is not yet known whether the 36 people were infected with Omicron or another variant.

"We take the safety of all of our customers, staff and suppliers very seriously. It is for this reason that the event organizers have taken the decision to cancel the remainder of Ballito Rage," they said in a statement.

This festival is one of many festivals held in South Africa, aimed at high school graduates who have just taken their final exams, a seasonal tradition known as the matric feast.

Addressing the nation on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa had urged organizers to cancel.

"Year-end parties and matric year-end raves and other celebrations are ideally postponed, and everyone should think twice before attending or hosting a gathering," he said.

It is too early to know whether the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will cause severe illness, with preliminary information from South Africa showing it does not cause any unusual symptoms, US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.

So far, Fauci said there were 226 confirmed cases of the variant in 20 countries as of Tuesday morning, but Omicron had not been detected in the United States.

Worries about the Omicron variant have rattled financial markets, fueling concerns about the strength of the global economic recovery, as the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is very difficult to know whether this particular variant will cause severe disease or not," Anthony Fauci told reporters at a briefing.

"Although some preliminary information from South Africa shows no unusual symptoms, we don't know, and it's too early to say."