For example, experts from RIVM are represented in weekly meetings of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), and there is a special European network where signals about the coronavirus and variants are exchanged on a daily basis. How infectious and virulent is the variant? And how well do the existing vaccines work against this variant? All over the world, experts are in daily contact to answer these questions. Experts are eager to learn more as soon as possible in order. The spread of the Omicron variant is being monitored closely around the world. Finally, RIVM will working closely with 31 Dutch laboratories to monitors the occurrence of coronavirus variants via the National Pathogen Surveillance. That is the first rapid diagnostic test that shows the abnormality in the spike protein. Also, RIVM will be retroactively examining older samples from laboratories that routinely perform the special PCR test. For example, the test samples from people who tested positive after returning from southern Africa will be subjected to further analysis by RIVM. There will be various studies in the near future to monitor the spread of the Omicron variant in the Netherlands. This means that the people were very probably infected independently from each other, from different sources and in different locations. Laboratory tests identified several different strains of the Omicron variant. In total, the Omicron variant was found in 14 of those people. The passengers were tested at Schiphol Airport 61 of them tested positive for COVID-19. On 26 November 2021, 624 people returning from South Africa were tested for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The GGD will notify the people involved and start source and contact tracing. RIVM has alerted the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs) in the regions where the samples were taken. It is not yet clear whether these people had also visited southern Africa. On 29 November, two samples were confirmed as the Omicron variant. The samples were sent to RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environmentįor confirmation. This raised the concern that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 might be involved. In a special PCR test, the samples showed an abnormality in the spike protein.