Dutch health authorities announced on Tuesday (November 30th) that they had detected the Omicron variant in a test taken on November 19, a week earlier than previously estimated, and checks are underway to see how far it has gone. spread.
Read also Omicron variant: the great concern of tourism professionals
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The Dutch Institute for Health and Environment (RIVM) detected the Omicron variant in two test samples that had already been taken in the Netherlands (...) on November 19 and 23, 2021,
" said this institute in a press release.
The Netherlands announced on Monday that a total of 14 people were carriers of the Omicron variant in the country, all among passengers who left South Africa and diagnosed positive for Covid-19 last Friday when they arrived in Amsterdam.
However, the two samples had been taken even before South Africa reported to the World Health Organization that it had detected this new variant on November 24, causing a wave of panic and a ban on many territories for travelers from from southern Africa.
Other cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Europe in samples taken before the announcement from South Africa.
Several upcoming studies in the Netherlands
Belgium was notably the first European country to identify the Omicron variant on a patient “
who came from abroad. Tested positively (for coronavirus) on November 22,
”the Belgian Minister of Health had specified on November 26.
It is not yet possible to know "
if the people concerned (in the previous cases) also went to southern Africa
", specified the RIVM, adding that the people tested had been informed and that the municipal health services had started investigating their contacts.
“
In the coming period, various studies will be carried out on the spread of the Omicron variant in the Netherlands,
” the institute said, adding that it would review more samples from previous tests.
Read alsoCovid-19: the new Omicron variant continues to grow
With 16 cases now confirmed, the Netherlands has one of the highest contamination figures for the new variant in Europe at this stage.
