London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 13, 2025

Netherlands says Omicron variant was already in country earlier than previously thought

Netherlands says Omicron variant was already in country earlier than previously thought

The Covid-19 Omicron variant was present in the Netherlands a week before two flights arrived from South Africa carrying the virus, Dutch health officials said Tuesday, throwing the timeline of the variant's spread in Europe into question.
The Omicron variant was confirmed in two test samples taken on November 19 and November 23, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said on Tuesday.

RIVM virologist Chantal Reusken told national broadcaster NOS that one of the people had "probably contracted the virus in the Netherlands. How exactly is still under investigation."

Dutch authorities previously believed that the first cases of the Omicron variant had arrived on November 26 after 14 passengers on flights from Johannesburg and Capetown tested positive.

Omicron, also known as B.1.1.529, has an unusually high number of mutations, sparking fears that it could evade vaccines and prolong the pandemic.

The two newly discovered cases in the Netherlands takes the total number of confirmed Omicron cases in the country to 16, the RIVM said. At least 20 countries and territories have confirmed cases of the Omicron variant so far, with the latest being Brazil.

At least 70 countries, among them the United States, imposed new travel restrictions from several African countries after Omicron was first identified by South African scientists.

But many health experts have pushed back on the reasoning behind the bans, with studies showing that travel restrictions may only slow the introduction of a new virus or variant by a few weeks.

The World Health Organization has repeatedly expressed fears that travel bans hurt economies and discourage countries from being forthright about reporting new viruses or variants.

On Tuesday, the WHO again urged countries to avoid implementing knee-jerk travel bans, saying that they do not "prevent the international spread," and "place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods."

"Putting in place travel bans that target Africa attacks global solidarity," WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said Sunday. "Covid-19 constantly exploits our divisions. We will only get the better of the virus if we work together for solutions."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
×