A married couple arrested by Dutch border police after leaving a coronavirus quarantine hotel has demanded an apology and €50,000 in damages, the Dagblad van het Noorden reports.
The couple, a man from Spain and woman from Portugal, were asked to quarantine after one of them tested positive for COVID on arrival in the Netherlands from South Africa last November. Carolina Pimenta (28) and Andrés Sanz (30), along with dozens of other passengers, were kept in quarantine at a hotel near Amsterdam.
They were detained on a plane in Schiphol Airport on November 28 just before it departed for Spain, where they live, and placed in forced quarantine at the UMCG rehabilitation center in Haren. Carolina and Andrés were allowed to leave the facility after testing negative for the infection.
The couple told Spanish media they were illegally deprived of their freedom and treated “like dogs” in the Netherlands. Carolina Pimenta and Andrés Sanz plan to take legal action against the mayor of Haarlemmermeer who issued the quarantine order based on the alleged threat the couple posed to public health. They are also considering suing UMCG.
