South Africa loosened many of its coronavirus restrictions Thursday, with officials saying data suggest the country has passed the peak of its fourth wave of COVID-19.

The omicron variant was first detected in the nation, home to nearly 60 million people, in mid-November, and it has since largely supplanted delta as the dominant strain in many countries around the world, including the United States. Health officials say early findings show omicron is more transmissible than other variants but may cause less severe illness.

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"While the omicron variant is highly transmissible, there has been lower rates of hospitalization than in previous waves," the South African government's communication office said in a statement. "This means that the country has a spare capacity for admission of patients even for routine health services."

South Africa lifted its midnight to 4 a.m. curfew and gave specific alcohol establishments the ability to go back to "full license conditions."

The country is still maintaining a number of restrictions against COVID-19, including its mask mandate for public spaces. Officials also restrict gatherings to a maximum of 1,000 people indoors and 2,000 people outdoors.

South Africa's Department of Health reported a 29.7% decrease in new cases for the week ending on Dec. 25. It detected 89,781 cases that week compared to 127,753 cases the week prior. In total, South Africa has reported nearly 3.5 million COVID-19 cases and nearly 91,000 related deaths, according to data reported by Johns Hopkins University.

The omicron variant's trajectory in South Africa could be indicative of how the spread of it will play out in other countries currently experiencing a surge in cases.

For instance, Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration, suggested Wednesday there are early indications that London, where there was a surge in omicron cases shortly after it was discovered in South Africa, has also started to peak.

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Omicron has spread rapidly in other countries around the world. The U.S. is engulfed in a wave of omicron infections. It recently hit a daily record number of new COVID-19 cases Dec. 27, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The hospitalization rate from omicron in the U.S. and in South Africa has been lower than other variants of COVID-19. A recent study in South Africa suggested that omicron may help boost immunity against the delta variant of COVID-19.