Dutch Find 13 Omicron Cases Among Passengers From South Africa
A medic performs a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab test on an arriving traveler at the Covid-19 test center at Schiphol Airport, operated by the Royal Schiphol Group NV, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged his fellow countrymen, especially younger people, to adhere to measures aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic in the first public response to a recent jump in new cases.
, Bloomberg
Diederik Baazil, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Dutch authorities said they found 13 cases of the new omicron coronavirus variant in people who arrived on flights from southern Africa.
In total, 61 people on two flights -- from Cape Town and Johannesburg -- tested positive for Covid-19. Analysis of the remaining samples is continuing.
The cases in the Netherlands would mark the most widespread incidence of the new strain seen in Europe so far.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.