On Tuesday, Dutch health authorities reported that the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus had been found in cases dating back 11 days, suggesting it was already spreading in western Europe before the first cases were identified in southern Africa.
RIVM said it found Omicron in samples dating from November 19 and 23, predating the positive cases found among South African passengers who passed through Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport last Friday.
“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 individuals had been informed of their Omicron infections and that local health services had started contact tracing.
“In the coming period, various studies will be conducted into the distribution of the Omicron variant in the Netherlands,” the institute said, noting that it would also re-examine more samples from previous COVID test results.
The latest test results from Belgium and Germany confirm that the variant has been found in those countries before South African health officials alerted the world on November 24 to its existence. South African scientists were credited with detecting the variant and alerting the world last week.
As of now, Omicron has spread to about 20 countries, and there are rising concerns that it could be significantly easier to spread and that it may be resistant to current treatments and vaccines, so many nations have implemented travel restrictions on passengers from southern African nations.
Political leaders and scientists in South Africa have said they feel as though they are being punished for their advanced COVID19 screening program, which caught the variant and allowed other nations to respond quickly but has led to travel bans aimed largely at southern African nations.
On Tuesday, both Japan and France confirmed their first cases of the new strain, as countries around the world closed their doors and scientists rushed to test current drugs against it.
As of Tuesday, it was unclear whether the Omicron strain makes people sicker than the already well-known variants, but the World Health Organization warned early evidence indicates a “very high” global risk.
WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it could lead to surges around the world with “severe consequences.”
Nigeria has recorded its first cases of Omicron and Canada has also extended the travel ban to Nigeria
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