Omicron coronavirus variant present in Netherlands a week earlier than believed
- Dutch health authorities found the Covid-19 variant in test samples taken on November 19 and 23 – before South Africa reported the new strain
- With 16 confirmed cases, the Netherlands has one of the highest numbers of the new Omicron variant in Europe
Dutch health authorities said on Tuesday that the new Covid-19 variant was present in the Netherlands a week earlier than previously believed, and checks are under way to see how far it has spread.
The Netherlands joins other European countries including Belgium and Germany that have reported cases of the new strain before it was officially notified by South Africa to the World Health Organization on November 24.
The RIVM National Health and Environment Institute said it “has found the corona variant Omicron in two test samples that had already been taken in the Netherlands … on November 19 and 23”.
The first cases in the Netherlands had been thought to be the 14 Omicron infections on two KLM flights from South Africa that arrived in Amsterdam on Friday, November 26.
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“It is not yet clear whether the people concerned [in the earlier cases] have also been to southern Africa,” the RIVM said, adding that the people had been informed and municipal health services had now started contact investigations.