61 people who travelled to Amsterdam from South Africa test positive for COVID-19

Amsterdam: 61 people onboard a flight from South Africa to Amsterdam tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, Dutch health authorities said. Further tests are being conducted on the patients to check if they are infected with the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, which was first detected in South Africa, Reuters reported.

The cases were reported among the 600 passengers who arrived in Amsterdam on two flights on Friday, just before the Dutch authorities stopped flights from omicron affected countries.

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which was first detected in South Africa, has been classified as a 'variant of concern' by the WHO. The resistance of virus to vaccines is yet to be ascertained.

Dutch health authorities have assured that they would contact travellers who had arrived from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe since Monday and urge them to take a test as soon as possible.

Those who tested positive for COVID in the flight have been put in isolation.

A spokesperson for KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France, said the airline was trying to determine what rules were in place as of Friday morning to prevent people with COVID-19 infections from boarding the flights, which departed from Cape Town and Johannesburg.

On the other hand, passengers onboard complained about the COVID management by the airline.

According to Paula Zimmerman, a Dutch photographer who was on board the flight said that the rules on the company`s website were that a passenger has to present a negative COVID-19 "rapid antigen" test result taken 24 hours before departure but were not required to show proof of vaccination.

Zimmerman further told that she had tested negative for COVID 18 hours after landing in Amsterdam, but said she then found out she was standing right next to a man who knew he had tested positive for an infection.

"It was really weird. There was no coordination. There were too few people and there really wasn’t anybody who took control."

"I’ve been told that they expect that a lot more people will test positive after five days. It`s a little scary the idea that you’ve been in a plane with a lot of people who tested positive."

The Dutch government on Friday announced the closure of bars, restaurants and most stores as it tries to curb a record-breaking wave of COVID-19 cases that is swamping its healthcare system.

(With inputs from Reuters)