Portugal finds 13 cases of omicron variant at Lisbon football club

Portugal detected 13 cases of the omicron coronavirus variant on Monday, all involving players and staff of top division football club Belenenses SAD, one of whose players recently returned from South Africa, health authority DGS said.

The diagnoses were made after the Lisbon club played a Primeira Liga match against Benfica on Saturday that started with only nine Belenenses players on the pitch because of a COVID-19 outbreak.

Only seven players returned to the field after halftime, and the match was abandoned two minutes into the second half with Benfica leading 7-0.

Belenenses defender Cafu Phete tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from international duty in South Africa on Nov 17, and he and 12 others at the club were confirmed on Monday to be infected with the Omicron variant, which was first detected last week in southern Africa.

By Monday, more than a dozen countries had reported cases of the variant, which the World Health Organisation said carried a very high global risk of surges.

The diagnoses were made after the Lisbon club played a Primeira Liga match against Benfica on Saturday that started with only nine Belenenses players on the pitch because of a COVID-19 outbreak.

Only seven players returned to the field after halftime, and the match was abandoned two minutes into the second half with Benfica leading 7-0.

Belenenses defender Cafu Phete tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from international duty in South Africa on Nov 17, and he and 12 others at the club were confirmed on Monday to be infected with the Omicron variant, which was first detected last week in southern Africa.

By Monday, more than a dozen countries had reported cases of the variant, which the World Health Organisation said carried a very high global risk of surges.

DGS said it was not up to the health authority to postpone the game.

Portugal, which has one of the world's highest COVID-19 vaccination rates, last week announced the return of curbs to slow the epidemic's spread. It additionally suspended flights to and from its former colony Mozambique from Monday to combat the variant.

Belenenses played against third-division club Caldas on Nov 21. A Caldas spokesman said they would test their players.

A Benfica spokesman said none of their players were in isolation as the Belenenses players they faced on Saturday were not considered high-risk contacts. Benfica's next match is scheduled for Friday.