BERLIN, Nov 28, Reuters -- Germany said on Sunday it had detected three cases of the new Omicron coronaviruses variant after a suspected infection in the western state of Hesse was confirmed.
The sequencing confirmed the result- the suspected case was made public yesterday morning by the Social Affairs Minister in the state of Hesse, Kai Klose.
He said on Saturday that a suspected Omicron case had been found in a passenger arriving from South Africa in Hesse, home to Frankfurt Airport, one of Europe's busiest air hubs.
Two cases of the Omicron variant were detected by health officials in the southern state of Bavaria on Saturday.
The restrictions on air travel from South Africa took effect on Sunday after it was classified as a virus-variant area. Airline passengers can only fly Germans from South Africa to Germany and those who are vaccinated must spend 14 days in quarantine.
The new variant has caused alarm in Germany which is struggling to contain a fourth wave of the COVID 19 crisis, with a surge in coronaviruses cases.