Dozens Of Passengers From South Africa Flights Likely To Be Covid Positive, Say Dutch Authorities

The authorities said that further tests are being conducted to see whether these people have been infected with the Omicron variant. 

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New Delhi: Health authorities from the Netherlands said that dozens of passengers arriving in Amsterdam in two flights from South Africa are likely to be infected with Covid 19 reported Reuters. The authorities said that further tests are being conducted to see whether these people have been infected with the Omicron variant. 

The report stated that on the basis of initial testing of the passengers, it was estimated that around 85 people tested positive for the virus. There were around 600 passengers that had arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The passengers of the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines had to experience hours of delay and testing as concerns over the new virus variant escalated. 

The health authorities in a statement said that "travelers with a positive test result will be placed in isolation at a hotel at or near Schiphol.”

The Netherlands had banned flights from southern Africa on Friday. Hugo de Jonge, the Health Minister said that the “passengers already en route to the Netherlands would have to undergo testing and quarantine upon arrival.”

The passengers said that they were made to wait for a long time on the tarmac. A New York Time journalist Stephanie Nolen who was also a passenger in one of the flights wrote in a tweet, "Vigorous applause because there is a BUS that has come to take us ... somewhere." She further wrote, “"Bus to a hall to a huge queue. I can see COVID testers in bright blue PPE far on the distance. Still no snacks for the sad babies."

In a separate announcement on Friday, the Dustch Government announced closure of bars, restaurants and most of the stores at night time as the country continues to handle a record breaking wave of Covid-19 cases in the country.