By Salo
The Netherlands detected 13 cases of the concerning new Omicron variant among airline passengers flying in from South Africa last week, health officials said.
Dutch health authorities announced that the cases of the COVID variant were discovered among passengers who arrived in Amsterdam from Johannesburg on Friday.
“It is not unlikely more cases will appear in the Netherlands,” Health Minister Hugo de Jonge told reporters in Rotterdam on Sunday. “This could possibly be the tip of the iceberg.”
Authorities tested more than 600 passengers on two flights and discovered 61 cases of coronavirus.
The infected passengers were required to quarantine at a hotel near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
First discovered in South Africa, the variant has now been also detected in Britain, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Botswana, Israel, Australia and Hong Kong.
Health officials in Australia said two passengers who flew into Sydney from southern Africa on Saturday evening had tested positive for the variant.
Denmark health officials also announced Sunday that the country has recorded two cases of the variant in travelers from South Africa.
France’s health minister added Sunday that although Omicron has not been detected in the country, it’s likely already spreading there.”There is no identification yet, but it’s a matter of hours,” Olivier Veran told reporters.
“Once the variant is circulating in England, in Italy, in Belgium, it is probable that there are already cases in circulation here. We will identify them and … we will slow down its spread as much as possible.”Health officials in France have reportedly recommended that any person who is in contact with a confirmed case of Omicron quarantine, regardless of vaccination status. Currently, confirmed contacts only have to isolate if they are not fully vaccinated or have weak immune systems.
The World Health Organization warned Friday that Omicron was a “variant of concern,” sparking fears around the world that it could be resistant to vaccines.
Omicron is believed to be more infectious than previous variants, but experts do not know yet if it will cause more severe cases of COVID-19 that lead to hospitalizations and deaths, which have been key factors for assessing the state of the pandemic and lifting lockdowns.
White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that the US needs to be at fewer than 10,000 reported cases of the coronavirus per day to lift restrictions, which currently include a federal mask mandate on public forms of transportation.
It’s unclear whether the government will continue to impose public health rules if the virus becomes endemic like the flu.
