Omicron variant in Netherlands, Oz

The Hague, Nov. 28: The Netherlands confirmed 13 cases of the new Omicron variant of the Coronavirus and Australia found two on Sunday as the countries half a world apart became the latest to detect it in travellers arriving from southern Africa. A growing raft of curbs are being imposed by nations around the world as they scramble to slow the variant’s spread, 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. The Dutch public health authority confirmed that 13 people who arrived in the Netherlands on flights from South Africa on Friday have so far tested positive for Omicron. They were among 61 people who tested positive for the virus on Friday after arriving on the last two flights to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport before a flight ban was put in place. They were immediately put into isolation, most at a nearby hotel.