The couple after traveling to South Africa. MThey were arrested for escaping from a quarantine hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Dutch police say they have arrested a married couple who fled the mandatory quarantine ordered by the government on Sunday (11/28/2021).
The couple, identified by AFP, are a 30-year-old Spanish man and a 28-year-old Portuguese woman. They reportedly arrived at Schiphol Airport Amsterdam on Friday.
They just arrived from South Africa, where the new Corona virus variant is, varian Omicron, was first identified and detected last week.
“Marechausse, Dutch military police, arrested a couple tonight who fled from quarantine hotel, police spokesman Stan Verberkt told CNN.
Marechausse did not specify whether any of them had tested positive for Covid. Also, it is not yet known how the police found the couple who had left the quarantined hotel.
The couple were on one of two flights from South Africa to Amsterdam. On that flight at least 61 passengers have tested positive for the virus, with 13 of those cases confirmed as varian Omicron.
There were a total of 600 passengers on both planes and they were ordered to be quarantined at a hotel near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
“The couple was arrested on a plane that was about to take off on its way to Spain at 18.00 local time. The two people have been transferred to the GGD (Dutch regional health authority),” Verberkt explained.
Dutch authorities are weighing the couple should face charges of endangering public safety or not.
GGD spokeswoman Stefanie van Waardenburg confirmed that the couple were among the passengers on the flight that landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport from Johannesburg on Friday.
“Health authorities are conducting more tests on passengers to see if anyone is carrying the new Omicron variant,” Waardenburg said.
The Netherlands became one of the countries that imposed a flight ban in southern Africa (including South Africa) following reports of a new variant.
Watch Videos”Detection of Omicron Variant, Travelers from South Africa Asked for Test“
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