The 13 reported cases of Covid-19 at the Portuguese football club Belenenses, whose league match against Benfica was called off at the weekend when their team was reduced to just six players, appear to be the Omicron variant, Portugal’s national health institute (INSA) announced on Monday. 

If confirmed, the cases would be the first in Portugal of the new Coronavirus strain. “Preliminary tests carried out by INSA strongly suggest that all 13 cases associated to Belenenses players are linked to the Omicron variant of concern,” the institute said in a statement.