The Netherlands has found 13 cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant among passengers on flights from South Africa, the Dutch health authority said Sunday.
On Friday, 26 November 2021, 624 passengers returning from South Africa were tested for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 by the GGD Kennemerland. The passengers were tested at Schiphol Airport; 61 of them tested positive for COVID-19, the Dutch health authority said.
According to the health authority, these test samples were sent to RIVMNational Institute for Public Health and the Environment for further analysis to determine which variant of the coronavirus was involved. Initial results from genome sequencing showed the omicron variant (B.1.1.529) in 13 of the samples from the positive tests.
“Sequencing has not been completed yet and it is possible that the new variant will be found in more test samples,” the authority said.
People who returned on Monday 22 November 2021 or after from countries where the Omicron variant is present are requested to get tested, even if they do not have any symptoms, the health authority said in a statement.
This applies to people returning from the following countries:
South Africa, Botswana, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
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