A variant Omicron of the coronavirus was detected in the Netherlands before two flights arrived from South Africa last week carrying the virus, Dutch health officials said on Tuesday (30).
At least 14 people on flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on Nov. 26 carrying the new variant, the Netherlands National Institute of Public Health (RIVM) said.
“We found the Ômicron variant of the coronavirus in two test samples that were collected on November 19 and 23,” the institute said. “It’s not yet clear whether these people visited southern Africa.”
The discovery of Ômicron has raised concerns around the world about the possibility of the strain’s resistance to vaccines and a prolongation of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has lasted nearly two years.
About 61 of the more than 600 passengers on flights from South Africa tested positive for the coronavirus and were quarantined after arriving last Friday.
Dutch authorities are also trying to contact and test about 5,000 other passengers who have arrived from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia or Zimbabwe.
In the Netherlands, tougher measures to combat Covid-19 went into effect on Sunday to contain daily infection rates at record highs of more than 20,000 and ease the pressure on hospitals.
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Reference: CNN Brasil
