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'TIP OF THE ICEBERG'
New Omicron variant spread fears as 13 passengers on flight from South Africa test positive in Amsterdam
AT least thirteen people have tested positive for the Omicron Covid variant after landing in Amsterdam on a flight from South Africa.
Dutch health authorities have confirmed 61 passengers are quarantining as they are infected with the coronavirus with at least 13 cases of the new super strain - but officials fear it is just the "tip of the iceberg".
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"The Omicron variant has so far been identified in 13 of the positive tests. The investigation has not yet been completed. The new variant may be found in more test samples," the National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said in a statement.
The passengers were among 600 to arrive at Schiphol Airport on two KLM flights on Friday.
"It is not unlikely more cases will appear in the Netherlands," Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said at a press conference in Rotterdam.
"This could possibly be the tip of the iceberg."
The Dutch government banned all air travel from southern Africa early on Friday.
However, Mr de Jonge said passengers already en route to the Netherlands would be allowed into the country after undergoing testing and quarantine.
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Passengers on the two KLM flights, from Cape Town and Johannesburg, said they were kept waiting on the tarmac for hours.
New York Times journalist Stephanie Nolen, a passenger on a flight from Johannesburg who later tested negative, reported a "huge queue" to see Covid testers.
The discovery of Omicron, dubbed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization, has sparked worries around the world that it could resist vaccinations and prolong the nearly two-year Covid pandemic.
Dutch health authorities are also seeking to contact and test some 5,000 other passengers who have travelled from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia or Zimbabwe since Monda
It comes after it was confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the UK.
The Health Secretary said the dreaded super-strain has been reported in Chelmsford and Nottingham as fears of a second Christmas lockdown grow.
Mr Javid said the two individuals who have tested positive and all members of their households are now self-isolating.
They are being re-tested and have been told to self-isolate while further testing and contact tracing is underway.
Boris Johnson has added four more countries on the travel ban list in a desperate bid to avoid a fresh lockdown this Christmas amid Omicron variant chaos.
Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola were added to the travel red list at 4am today in addition to the six already on it - South Africa,
SUPER-STRAIN FEARS
Meanwhile, health chiefs say it's overwhelmingly likely that "very high risk" Omicron is in Germany already after a traveller tested positive for a mutated form of the deadly bug.
Fears are intensifying over the Omicron variant - believed by experts to be the "worst variant ever".
In Germany - which looks set to head back into lockdown as Covid cases spiral - a minister in western state Hesse said Omicron has already arrived.
"Last night several Omicron-typical mutations were found in a traveller returning from South Africa," tweeted Kai Klose.
The state is home to busy Frankfurt Airport.
EU health chiefs have warned the new mutation poses a "high to very high" risk to Europe.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says there's “considerable uncertainty related to the transmissibility, vaccine effectiveness, risk for reinfections and other properties of the Omicron variant.”
'HIGH RISK'
On Friday, video emerged of travellers being told they couldn't get off a plane in Amsterdam after the first European case was confirmed in Belgium.
They were finally allowed off the jet after being tested and leaving their details with contact tracers.
Some nations, including Germany, are believed to be bracing for a 'Code Black' scenario - meaning medics will have to choose who gets treatment and who doesn't.
The situation could soon worsen if Omicron spreads, it's feared, and the strain has officially been named a "variant of concern" by the WHO.
Elsewhere, , and President Joe Biden has banned travel from eight African countries.
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told his officials to review plans to ease travel restrictions, but tighten border screening.
The country is the world's second-worst affected by the pandemic. The government only decided yesterday to resume international flights from countries deemed 'at risk' of the virus.
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Fears Covid super-strain Omicron is already in UK as 1st case confirmed in Europe and passengers banned from leaving plane
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