None of the 100-plus partygoers who caught Omicron at a Norwegian Christmas party believed to be the world's biggest coronavirus super-spreader event have fallen seriously unwell.
Doctors involved in tracing the outbreak say the infected are so far only suffering very mild symptoms like fevers, coughs, headaches and tiredness following the festive do on November 26.
Some 120 people who attended the Louise Restaurant and Bar in Oslo have tested positive for Covid, all of which are suspected to be Omicron but only 13 have been confirmed in a lab.
Seventy of the infected were employees of the solar power company Scatec who were celebrating their work Christmas night out, while the remaining 50 were other guests at the restaurant.
The outbreak made international headlines and was the first warning sign to Europe that the highly-evolved variant was viciously virulent and could outpace Delta on the continent.
But Dr Tine Ravlo, a public health expert in the Norwegian capital involved in tracking the outbreak, said that so far 'none have become severely ill and none of them have been treated in hospital'.
The development lends weight to the theory that Omicron might be weaker than past variants, and is consistent with reports from doctors in ground zero of the outbreak in South Africa.
Norway's state epidemiologist, Frode Forland, told The Telegraph that if this turns out to be true, it could signal the beginning of the end of the pandemic.
'That is the hope. That is the best scenario we can have,' he said. 'That it's getting minder, most people will get it, and they will get a natural immunity.'
Scientists have long predicted the coronavirus is unlikely to ever be eradicated but will instead transition into a milder cold-like virus as the world develops stronger immunity.
Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association and the first person to spot the new variant in a patient, said her patients infected with Omicron reported different and much milder symptoms, including tiredness, muscle aches, a sore head and a dry cough. But none reported the tell-tale symptoms of a loss of smell or taste or breathing difficulties
Some 120 people who attended the Louise Restaurant and Bar in Oslo on Nov 26 (pictured) have tested positive for Covid, the majority of which are suspected to be Omicron but only 13 have been confirmed in a lab
The Christmas party was held in a closed room but the guests reportedly mingled with other people in the restaurant after 10:30pm, when it turned into a nightclub (pictured, inside Louise Restaurant & Bar)
MailOnline reported last week that the Oslo outbreak was only causing mild illness but doctors cautioned that it could take up to a fortnight for patients to fall severely ill.
But there is a growing sense of optimism 11 days removed from the event with no sign of their conditions worsening.
