According to Dutch authorities, 61 passengers who traveled from South Africa arrived in Amsterdam Friday and tested positive for Covid-19. Further testing was being done early Saturday morning to determine if there are any infections with Omicron coronavirus.

On Friday, 600 passengers arrived in Amsterdam on two KLM flights. After that they faced long delays due to the virus variant.

Dutch Health Ministry stated that early Saturday, 61 test results had been positive.

Health authorities stated in a statement that travelers with positive results will be isolated at Schiphol hotels.

“Omicron is the name of the new concern that we have identified from the positive results. We are now investigating as fast as possible to determine if they are the true variant.

On Friday, the Dutch government banned air travel to southern Africa. Hugo de Jonge, Health Minister of the Netherlands, stated that all passengers en route to Holland would be subject to testing upon their arrival.

Two passengers on KLM’s flights from Cape Town to Johannesburg claimed that they were left waiting for hours on the runway.

Stephanie Nolen (New York Times journalist), tweeted “Vigorous applause” because the bus has arrived to transport us…somewhere. Stephanie Nolen was a passenger aboard the flight from Johannesburg and later stated that her test result had been negative.

The queue is long and it’s pretty long. Covid testers wearing brightly colored PPE can be seen far away. She added another tweet, “There are still no snacks for sad babies.”

Kennemerland is the Dutch area that supervises Schiphol. A Kennemerland spokesperson said positive Schiphol cases were currently being examined by an academic medical center to see if it was the new strain.

It was detected at a time when many European countries are dealing with an increase in coronavirus cases.

The Dutch government separately on FridayAs it attempts to stem a massive increase in COVID-19-related cases, the company announced that all bars, restaurants, and stores will close at night.