The government is sticking to its requirement that everyone travelling to the Netherlands, including Dutch nationals, should have a negative PCR coronavirus test no older than 72 hours if they come from a risky area, the cabinet confirmed on Sunday evening.

The requirement is now being incorporated into public health law via the emergency coronavirus legislation from January 4, and thus remains mandatory for all travellers, the ministry said in a statement.

On December 31, anti-coronavirus activists won a court case against the Dutch state to ensure a family can return from holiday in Tanzania without having to produce negative coronavirus tests.

The court in The Hague ruled that the family can return from the high risk country on January 3 without a negative test and ordered the state to pay the legal costs.

The judge said the family have the right to protest about being forced to undergo a PCR test against their will. ‘Introducing such a requirement for citizens of the Netherlands who want to return home requires legal grounding, and this is not covered by article 53 or 54 of the public health act,’ the judge is quoted as saying.

Legal basis

The fact that further spreading of the virus needs to be tackled urgently is not up for discussion, the judge said. ‘But such a far reaching obligation as this, which concerns physical integrity, requires a concrete legal basis.’

The government said immediately that it would appeal against the court ruling and has now confirmed it will amend the public health act to incorporate the requirement.

‘The cabinet is doing all this to limit the spread of the virus as much as possible,’ the statement said. ‘The government continues to emphasise that people should only travel if strictly necessary. Holidays and family visits are non essential trips.’