Omicron variant ‘in Netherlands days earlier than previously thought’

Passengers wait in a line to receive quarantine test on their arrivals at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, western Japan (Kyodo/AP)

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus was already in the Netherlands when South Africa alerted the World Health Organisation (WHO) about it last week, Dutch health authorities have said.

The announcement adds to fear and confusion over the new version of the coronavirus in a world hoping it had left the worst of the pandemic behind.