On Friday, two KLM flights reached Schiphol Airport carrying 600 passengers from Cape Town and Johannesburg. The Netherlands health authorities conducted COVID-19 tests and 61 of these passengers tested positive. These flights had left the airports before the Dutch government had stopped flights from the region due to concerns on the new variant Omicron which has recently emerged from the region.

These passengers were kept in separate areas, away from other travelers who had arrived at the airport from different destinations. Those who tested positive were isolated and moved to a hotel near the Dutch airport.

Those who tested positive have to undergo quarantine at a hotel for seven days if they exhibit symptoms and for five days if they did not have any symptoms. Those who tested negative have been requested to isolate for five days at their home and then get tested again. Those who were in transit were allowed to resume their journeys.

A Dutch health ministry spokesperson said that testing for the new variant was in process and the results would be available by late Saturday. A spokesperson for the Kennemerland health authorities said that the National Institute for Health (RIVM) was analyzing the positive cases. Schipol comes under Kennemerland region in the Netherlands.

Passengers on the flights said that they had to wait on the tarmac for hours and they had not been given food and water for a while.

Omicron, the new variant of COVID-19 was classified as a variant of concern, on Friday by the World Health Organization. Cases have already been seen in the U.K., Germany and other countries in the region. Europe has already seen an increase in COVID-19 cases before passengers with the new variant traveled to the bloc.

On Friday, the Dutch government announced partial lockdowns. Bars, restaurants and other stores would shut down earlier than before. The lockdowns will be put in place from 17:00 to 5:00 and are expected to continue at least up to December 19. The uprise in cases has swamped the health care system and curbs could help manage the growing number of cases as winter looms in the region.

A new variant of COVID-19 has recently emerged from the southern regions of Africa. Major effects of this as yet fairly unknown variant has not been seen but the mutations of its spike protein has alarmed scientists in some countries. This has led to a ban in travel from this region on Thursday and Friday, by some countries, as a precautionary measure.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for a meeting of the scientific community to discuss the new variant, on Friday. If it is considered to be of importance, it could be named “Nu” continuing with the trend of naming variants using the Greek alphabet. WHO will decide about “Nu” and also whether it will be classified as a variant of concern or as a variant of interest.

First isolated in Botswana, the newest isolated variant B.1.1.529 is said to have twice as many mutations those that are seen on the delta variant. It reportedly spread from Botswana to South Africa and has infected people who traveled to Hong Kong from the region. The travelers had been reportedly vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine.

The delta variant is currently the largest spreading variant of COVID-19, all over the world. Although much is still unknown about the new variant, scientists believe that larger numbers of mutations on spike proteins might help the virus to more easily avoid the body’s immune response.

The new variant has infected a large number of people in Gauteng province in South Africa, which includes Johannesburg. There has been a spike of cases in November in schools as well as among young people.

Researchers in South Africa are tracking the spread of B.1.1.529 in South Africa as well as other regions where it is spreading. They are planning to test its ability to escape from infection-blocking antibodies. They will also study its severity and transmissibility.

The U.K., Israel, Singapore, Germany and Italy have already banned flights from the southern region of Africa and other countries are expected to do so, as well. Scientists are divided in opinion about such bans as some say that the virus will potentially spread throughout the globe whether bans are enforced or not enforced, while others believe that bans are essential to stop the spread of new variants.