The first suspected case of Omicron Covid variant in Germany and Czech Republic Investigations are under way as Dutch authorities scrambled to check whether 61 passengers from South Africa who tested positive for Covid-19 had new variants.
Omicron, first discovered In south africa According to reports, the virus with the official name B.1.1.529 has been found in travelers from Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.
On Saturday, Australia and several other countries joined the ranks of imposing restrictions on travel from Southern Africa because the variant was described by the World Health Organization as a “worrying” variant. Sell off In the global stock market
In Germany, a minister from Hessen stated on Saturday that the variant may be derived from a South Africa.
“Several mutations typical of Omicron were found in a traveler returning from South Africa last night,” Tweet Kai Klose, Minister of Social Affairs of Hessen, where Frankfurt International Airport is located.
Dozens of people arrived Netherlands Two flights from South Africa on Friday tested positive for the new crown virus. Upon arrival at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, testing is being conducted to determine if there is an Omicron variant. These planes arrived from Johannesburg and Cape Town shortly after the Dutch government banned flights from some southern African countries.
Local health authorities stated that those who test positive must be quarantined for 7 days if they have symptoms, otherwise they must be quarantined for 5 days. According to NL Times, those who tested positive were placed in a guarded quarantine hotel near the airport.
The 539 passengers who tested negative were allowed to return to their homes or continue their journey to other countries.
One of the passengers on the plane was Stephanie Nolen (Stephanie Nolen), a global health reporter for the New York Times. She was on the first flight since the pandemic began. Her test result was negative, but she said that passengers were confined to a small space in the airport, and many people did not wear masks.
she Tweet: “Maybe 30% of people don’t wear masks or only wear masks. The Dutch authorities don’t enforce it. At 12 o’clock, we are all in this unventilated room, breathing each other.”