Public health institute RIVM has said that 80 cases of the Omicron virus have so far been identified in the Netherlands, including the 18 people on two flights from South Africa at the end of November.

Of the 62 new cases, 53 involved people who had recently returned from southern Africa and three were people who had been in touch with other Omicron patients. Six people had no clear link with southern Africa, the RIVM said.

In total, 17,562 new positive coronavirus tests were reported to the RIVM in the 24 hours to Friday morning, the lowest number since November 14. However, changes in the testing regime may have had an impact on the number of official cases.

People with mild symptoms are now being told to take a self test first and only report to the regional health board testing centres if that test is positive. It is not yet clear if everyone who has a positive self test is following the new guidelines and requesting a confirmation check.