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An early assessment of the Omicron variant in South Africa suggests the risk of severe disease may be lower than with earlier strains of the coronavirus.

The study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, was carried out by South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and found that people diagnosed with Omicron in South Africa between 1 October and and 30 November were 80% less likely to be admitted to hospital than those diagnosed with other variants over the same period.

But the authors stressed that some of the findings may be attributed to higher levels of population immunity caused by vaccinations and past infections, and stressed that further research is needed.

It is estimated that 60-70% of South Africans have had a prior coronavirus infection.

"Compellingly, together our data really suggest a positive story of a reduced severity of Omicron compared to other variants," Professor Cheryl Cohen of the NICD said.

"What is unclear is whether the picture will be similar in countries where there are high levels of vaccination but very low levels of previous infection," she added.

Results of a major study released by Imperial College London last week found that there are no indications that Omicron is milder than the Delta variant, although data on hospitalisations remains very limited and the study has not been peer reviewed.