61 COVID-19 cases were discovered aboard a flight from South Africa to the Netherlands on Friday, according to Dutch health experts.
The infections were discovered among passengers on two aircraft that arrived at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Friday when authorities tested for the newly discovered Omicron strain of the coronavirus, according to Reuters.
The flights from South Africa carried a total of 600 passengers. Officials told the news source on Saturday that they were kept away from other passengers in the airport and that those who tested positive for coronavirus were being quarantined in the airport.
According to Reuters, passengers' health information, including whether or not any of them were infected with the novel Omicron type, will be kept confidential until later on Saturday, according to a Dutch health ministry official.
KLM, the Dutch subsidiary of Air France, which operated the flights out of Cape Town and Johannesburg, is attempting to determine the procedures in place on Friday to prevent persons with coronavirus infections from boarding flights, according to Reuters.
According to the news outlet, the airline's website states that passengers must have a negative COVID-19 test 24 hours prior to the flight, but it does not mention proof of vaccination status.
The National Institute for Health is allegedly investigating the COVID-19 positive cases discovered on both flights.
The announcement comes as governments rush to contain a new coronavirus type. The new strain has been classified as a variation of concern by the World Health Organization, a designation given to strains that are particularly virulent, transmissible, or capable of evading public health interventions.
South Africa was the first place where the new mutation was detected.
The United States, the European Union, Australia, and others have imposed travel restrictions from South Africa because to fears that the strain would resurface and cause widespread epidemics.
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