Dutch health authorities say they have identified initial cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus – including one from a sample taken a week before South Africa raised the alarm about the variant. mutation. Other cases were found through checks at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP via Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP via Getty Images
Dutch health authorities say they have identified initial cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus – including one from a sample taken a week before South Africa raised the alarm about the variant. mutation. Other cases were found through checks at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP via Getty Images
NS coronavirus variant omicron was in the Netherlands a week before South Africa reported the new variant to the World Health Organization, according to Dutch health authorities.
The variant was recently identified in retests of samples taken on November 19 and 23, the National Institutes of Public Health and the Environment, or RIVM, announced on Tuesday.
Revelations about the variant’s existence in Europe before it was reported in Africa add a new twist to questions about where and how the variant originated – and whether travel ban for South Africa and neighboring countries is an appropriate response to variation.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his country was being punished for discovering the variant and notifying global health authorities about it.
Ramaphosa “You must not try and contain the virus through the unscientific and indiscriminate imposition of bans” say on Tuesday, adding that measures such as testing all travelers are the best tool to combat the pandemic.
South African officials have sounded the alarm about heavily mutated variant, B.1.1.529, on 24 November. Two days later, WHO classified it as a variant of concern and named it omicron.
Global health agency says variant poses a “very high” risk because its mutations could make it easier to spread – and possibly infect people who might be considered immune to previous variants.
Abnormalities are required to re-examine old samples; links to southern Africa are not clear
The Netherlands had previously reported more than a dozen omicron COVID-19 cases, detected during checks at an Amsterdam airport on November 26, when 624 people arrived in the country from South Africa.
According to the WHO, Dutch authorities scrutinized older samples after an initial PCR test found abnormalities in the coronavirus’ mutant protein – the omicron variant has between 26 and 32 mutations in just a few weeks. that region, according to WHO.
The samples were taken at a municipal public health service testing site, RIVM said, adding, “It remains unclear whether these people visited southern Africa.”
The rapid spread of omicrons has caused travel restrictions
As of the end of Monday, 33 omicron cases had been confirmed in Europe, in eight countries: the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Portugal, according to European Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It is also found elsewhere, from Hong Kong to Israel.
The omicron variant has triggered a new set of travel restrictions targeting South Africa and other South African countries. Almost immediately, new bans were announced or proposed by EU, America and Canada, along with Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom
Ramaphosa insisted that such bans be lifted, saying, “This is not fair, this is discriminatory against us.”
Health professionals have has long questioned the effectiveness of such bans – and in the case of the coronavirus, many believe that the omicron variant has spread too quickly to be contained in one part of the world.
Where the omicron originally appeared is still unknown
A few days after South Africa informed WHO of the new variant, Botswana said Its COVID-19 genome surveillance detected four omicron cases, in foreign diplomats entering the country on 7 November.
“It’s not clear where the variation actually appeared”, because Health news page STAT report. “It is possible that South Africa and Botswana saw it early because they have strong sequencing networks.”
Four people tested positive on November 11, when they were due to leave Botswana; Their sample was retested after the warning about this variant was issued.
Botswana has not yet identified the diplomats or said where they went. nation recently said it detected 15 more cases, with the majority of them also related to international travel.
