Nearly 1,000 Dutch tourists who previously spent their winter vacations in Austria have tested positive for the coronavirus back home. To be exact, according to a report by the NL Times news portal, 964 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 last week between Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 who had previously visited Austria over a 14-day period.
According to the report, infections attributed to Austria account for 15.8 percent of all CoV cases attributed to foreign countries, despite the fact that the Netherlands was declared a virus variant area by Austria effective Dec. 25, which would impose mandatory quarantine. However, triple vaccinated individuals with valid PCR tests are exempt from this rule.
As reported by the “NL Times”, even some Dutch tourists with destination Austria would have been vaccinated in Germany before entering the country, because it was not yet their turn in their home country.
Positively tested travelers also from other countries
In total, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported 6,100 cases attributed to foreign travelers, but the actual total is likely higher because of limited contact tracing, RIVM was quoted as saying in the report. France, another popular skiing and snowboarding destination for the Dutch, follows in second place with 740 confirmed cases. Belgium is third with 682 infected travelers returning to the Netherlands.
According to the report, the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) noted in its latest recommendation “a sharp increase in reports of positively tested individuals who have recently traveled to the Netherlands from abroad.” Experts advising the Dutch cabinet on how to combat the coronavirus expect this number to continue to rise in the coming weeks and months.
- source: orf.at/picture:pixabay.com
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