The National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM) said on Tuesday that the Omicron variant was confirmed in two test samples taken on November 19 and November 23.
RIVM virologist Chantal Reusken told national broadcaster NOS that one of them “probably contracted the virus in the Netherlands. The fact is still being investigated.”
Dutch officials previously believed that the first cases of the Omicron variant came on 26 November, when 14 passengers on flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town tested positive.
The RIVM said the two new cases detected in the Netherlands brought the total number of confirmed cases of Omicron in the country to 16. At least 20 countries and territories have so far confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, with Brazil being the latest.
But many health experts have pushed back the rationale behind the restrictions, with studies showing that travel restrictions can only slow the introduction of a new virus or variant by a few weeks.
The World Health Organization has repeatedly expressed fears that travel restrictions have hurt economies and discouraged countries from being explicit about reporting new viruses or variants.
On Tuesday, the WHO again urged countries to avoid imposing travel restrictions on the knee, saying they “do not stop the international spread,” and “put a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.”
Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa, said on Sunday that “travel restrictions targeting Africa are an attack on global solidarity.” “Covid-19 continuously exploits our division. We will be better than the virus only if we work together to find solutions.”
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