Dutch health authorities said Tuesday that the Omicron variant was present in the Netherlands earlier than previously thought before South Africa had first reported the new strain of Covid-19. The first Omicron cases in the Netherlands were previously believed to have been the cluster of 14 among passengers on two flights from South Africa that arrived in Amsterdam on Friday. “We found two additional cases of Omicron variant which have been sampled on the 19th and 23rd of November,” RIVM infectious diseases chief Aura Timen told AFP. But the Dutch situation was likely to be repeated in other countries when they retest samples for Omicron cases, the public health institute’s Timen said. The Omicron cases come as the Netherlands is under a virtual night-time lockdown imposed by the government after Covid cases surged to record levels.

Source: The Guardian December 01, 2021 02:48 UTC