Australian health authorities announced on Sunday that they had detected the presence of the Omicron coronavirus variant after emergency tests carried out on two passengers from southern Africa who landed in Sydney on Saturday. The two passengers traveled on a Qatar Airways flight via Doha, NSW Health said in a statement.
They tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after arrival, which led to further analysis to establish whether they were carriers of the new variant of the coronavirus, Omicron, first detected in South Africa. “The two positive cases, which were asymptomatic, are in isolation in specific rooms. Both people are fully vaccinated, ”NSW Health said.
Twelve other passengers from southern Africa who were on the same flight did not test positive for Covid but were placed in quarantine, the ministry said. The approximately 260 passengers and crew on this flight were also asked to self-isolate, the health authority said.