The Dutch health authority (GGD) is analyzing the results in search of the new Omicron variant, deemed “worrying” by the WHO.
Sixty-one passengers from two flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in Amsterdam, the Dutch health authority announced on Saturday. The Dutch authorities are trying to identify “as soon as possible” whether these people are indeed positive for the new Omicron variant.
“We now know that 61 of the results were positive and 531 negative,” said the Dutch health authority (GGD), adding that passengers who tested positive have been quarantined at a hotel near Amsterdam Airport Schipol .
The tested passengers arrived in Amsterdam on Friday. Those with negative results will be able to continue their trip if they do not reside in the Netherlands. Otherwise, they will have to isolate themselves at their home.
A new “worrying” variant
These positive cases occur while the new variant, detected a few days ago, worries the health authorities. The World Health Organization has classified it as “worrying” after naming it, while many countries, including France, have closed their borders to visitors from southern Africa.
Omicron would present an increased risk of contagion compared to other variants, including Delta, dominant and already very contagious. It represents a “high to very high” risk for Europe, warned the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Friday evening.
Apart from South Africa, Omicron has been detected in Malawi, Israel on a person from Malawi, Botswana, Hong Kong and Belgium, a member country of the EU.