By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Netherlands confirmed 13 cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus on Sunday and Australia found two as the countries half a world apart became the latest to detect it in travelers arriving from southern Africa.
Testing was being carried out on 61 people who tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving on the last two flights to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport before a flight ban was put in place.
The two flights were carrying about 600 passengers and those who tested positive were immediately put into isolation.
The National Institute for Health (RIVM) said in a statement that testing was continuing on the samples.
“The Omicron variant has so far been identified in 13 of the positive tests. The investigation has not yet been completed,” the RIVM said.
“It is not unlikely more [Omicron] cases will appear in the Netherlands,” Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said at a press conference.
A raft of curbs being imposed by nations around the world as they scramble to slow the variant’s spread also grew, with Israel deciding Sunday to bar entry to foreign nationals in the toughest move so far.
Confirmed or suspected cases of the new variant have already emerged in several European countries, in Israel and in Hong Kong, just days after it was identified by researchers in South Africa. The “act first, ask questions later” approach reflected growing alarm about the emergence of a potentially more contagious variant nearly two years into a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people, upended lives and disrupted economies across the globe.
While much remains to be learned about the new variant, researchers are concerned that it may be more resistant to the protection provided by vaccines and could mean that the pandemic lasts for longer than anticipated.
Authorities in Australia said two overseas travelers who arrived in Sydney from Africa became the first in the country to test positive for the omicron variant. Arrivals from nine African countries are now required to quarantine in a hotel upon arrival. Two German states reported a total of three cases in returning travelers over the weekend.
Israel moved to ban entry by foreigners and mandate quarantine for all Israelis arriving from abroad.
“Restrictions on the country’s borders is not an easy step, but it’s a temporary and necessary step,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.
Dr. Ran Balicer, head of the government’s advisory panel on Covid-19, told Israel’s Kan public radio that the new measures were necessary for the “fog of war” surrounding the new variant, saying it was “better to act early and strictly” to prevent its spread.
Many countries have restricted or banned travel from various southern African countries — among the latest New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Saudi Arabia. Places that already had imposed restrictions include Brazil, Canada, the EU, Iran, and the U.S. This goes against the advice of the World Health Organization, which has warned against any overreaction before the variant is thoroughly studied.