This New Omicron Symptom Only Appears When You Sleep

Several reports have emerged from South Africa about a symptom experienced by people infected with the Omicron variant in their sleep.

Dr. Amir Khan, a physician with the National Health Service in the U.K., said that doctors in South Africa found that patients infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant experienced night sweats when they slept.

"Those kind of drenching night sweats where you might have to get up and change your clothes,” Dr. Khan said while speaking to ITV’s Lorraine, as reported by The Sun.

The noted British doctor also listed other telltale symptoms of Omicron, including scratchy throat, dry cough, extreme fatigue and mild muscle aches. Data coming out of South Africa also suggested that lower back pain could be another possible symptom of the Omicron variant.

In contrast, people who were infected with the Delta variant often suffered from high fever, cough and a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste.

“This is important, and it’s important that we keep on top of these symptoms,” Khan said, adding: “If we are going to track Omicron and track it worldwide, we need to be able to test people with these symptoms.”

Khan’s interview comes after health officials in the U.K. on Saturday recorded nearly 25,000 new cases of the Omicron variant, up by 10,000 cases reported Friday. Health officials also record a total of seven deaths of people who were infected with the Omicron strain, according to Reuters.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has held off announcing COVID-19 restrictions but indicated that further restrictions could come after the Christmas holiday.

As of Monday, the Omicron variant is believed to account for nearly 70% of COVID-19 cases in the U.K., data published Dec. 20 by the Health Security Agency showed. In London, the variant accounts for almost 90% of all infections reported.

So far, 85 U.K. residents infected with the Omicron variant have been admitted to hospitals.

The country has reported a total of 11,518,116 COVID-19 cases and 147,722 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.