Covid-19 Omicron variant: Portugal finds 13 cases at Belenenses football club

Portugal detected 13 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus on Monday, all involving players and staff members of Lisbon soccer club Belenenses SAD, after one player recently returned from South Africa, health authority DGS said.

The new variant, which according to the World Health Organisation is likely to "spread internationally", was found after Belenenses played a Primeira Liga match against Benfica on Saturday.

The game started with only nine Belenenses players on the pitch because the rest of their squad were isolating and only seven returned to the field after halftime. The match was abandoned two minutes into the second half with Benfica leading 7-0.

"We're all in isolation except for the youth team that didn't play on Saturday, 44 people are in isolation at home," a club spokesman, who is also self-isolating, said on Monday.

"Two or three players and two or three staff have symptoms, but nothing too serious, the rest are asymptomatic. Everyone is waiting to repeat the tests, as soon as the health authority authorises it," he added.

The presidents of Benfica and Belenenses told a news conference on Saturday they had no choice but to play the match or risked being punished for an "unjustified absence". They blamed the league and DGS for not allowing the game to be postponed.

A Benfica spokesman said none its players were in isolation as the nine Belenenses squad members they played against on Saturday were not considered high-risk contacts. Benfica's next match is scheduled for Friday.