The infected person tested positive on November 22 (Representative)
Brussels:
On Friday, Belgium said it had detected the first published European case of the new Covid-19 variant, in an unvaccinated person returning from abroad.
“We have a now confirmed case of this variant,” Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke told a news conference.
He added that the infected person tested positive on November 22 and never had Covid-19.
A leading Belgian virologist, Marc Van Ranst, tweeted that the person returned from Egypt on 11 November.
“It’s worth repeating that this is a questionable variant – we don’t know if it’s a very dangerous variant,” says Vandebroucke.
However, he noted that “as a precaution” Europe is suspending flights from southern Africa.
“So take extreme precautions but don’t panic,” he said, adding that Belgium’s Covid-19 risk assessment team was analyzing the situation.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
