Two people who tested positive for coronavirus more than a week ago were infected in the Netherlands omicron version, Dutch health officials reported on Tuesday. Timing is important as it shows that the variant was already in place for at least a week before the arrival of the two flights in the country. South Africa On Friday, and before the WHO dubbed Omicron “a form of concern”, the move that prompted countries around the world to ban flights from southern Africa, where researchers identified the first variant. “We have detected the Omicron variant in two test samples taken on 19 November and 23 November,” the Dutch health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “It is not yet clear whether these people also visited southern Africa.” Two samples were taken by municipal health services at public testing sites, and health officials have begun contact tracing in those areas, Dutch health officials said.
Although little is yet known about how transmissible Omicron is, or whether it can survive existing vaccines, its detection in Botswana and South Africa has caused the most uncertain moment of the pandemic since the delta variant emerged in the spring. Is.
The Netherlands announcement also highlighted that scientists still cannot say with certainty where or when the version originated. So far, the first known sample of the Omicron variant was collected in South Africa on 9 November, according to Gisaid, an international database for disease variants. Officials across Europe fear Omicron will put pressure on countries that are already hit by some of the worst coronavirus surges.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Tuesday that so far 42 cases of the new variant have been confirmed in 10 European countries. Agency director Andrea Ammon said all confirmed cases in Europe showed mild symptoms or none at all, and officials were analyzing six more “probable” cases. She said health officials were conducting additional tests on people who have recovered from the disease brought on by Omicron to help assess how the variant behaves in vaccinated people. European Union countries have scrambled to reinforce travel restrictions in hopes of halting the spread of the variant, as the WHO warned the risk it posed was “too high”.
Japan on Tuesday confirmed its first case of the Omicron version, a Namibian diplomat who had recently arrived from his country, officials said. The Chief Cabinet Secretary said the patient, Aman, in his 30s, tested positive on arrival at Narita airport on Sunday and was isolated and is being treated at a hospital. Israel said the new variant had been detected in two Israeli doctors, one of whom had returned from a conference in London last week. Sheba Medical Center Confirmed on Tuesday near Tel Aviv. The hospital said both had received three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab and are showing mild symptoms so far. The doctor who returned from Britain probably infected his colleague.
Although little is yet known about how transmissible Omicron is, or whether it can survive existing vaccines, its detection in Botswana and South Africa has caused the most uncertain moment of the pandemic since the delta variant emerged in the spring. Is.
The Netherlands announcement also highlighted that scientists still cannot say with certainty where or when the version originated. So far, the first known sample of the Omicron variant was collected in South Africa on 9 November, according to Gisaid, an international database for disease variants. Officials across Europe fear Omicron will put pressure on countries that are already hit by some of the worst coronavirus surges.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Tuesday that so far 42 cases of the new variant have been confirmed in 10 European countries. Agency director Andrea Ammon said all confirmed cases in Europe showed mild symptoms or none at all, and officials were analyzing six more “probable” cases. She said health officials were conducting additional tests on people who have recovered from the disease brought on by Omicron to help assess how the variant behaves in vaccinated people. European Union countries have scrambled to reinforce travel restrictions in hopes of halting the spread of the variant, as the WHO warned the risk it posed was “too high”.
Japan on Tuesday confirmed its first case of the Omicron version, a Namibian diplomat who had recently arrived from his country, officials said. The Chief Cabinet Secretary said the patient, Aman, in his 30s, tested positive on arrival at Narita airport on Sunday and was isolated and is being treated at a hospital. Israel said the new variant had been detected in two Israeli doctors, one of whom had returned from a conference in London last week. Sheba Medical Center Confirmed on Tuesday near Tel Aviv. The hospital said both had received three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab and are showing mild symptoms so far. The doctor who returned from Britain probably infected his colleague.
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