Government to legally impose quarantine from May 15: NOS

People who enter the Netherlands from high-risk countries after May 15 will be required by law to go into quarantine and will be fined €95 if they don’t, government sources have said.

The ten day quarantine period, or half that if people test negative on day five, is currently recommended but is widely ignored.

Apart from a negative PCR test and, in some cases an additional fast test, people who are travelling from code orange or red countries will have to have a statement as to the purpose of their trip, including an address where they intend to spend the quarantine period. There will be no quarantine hotels, as there are in Britain.

Police at Schiphol airport will make spot checks to see if travellers are in possession of both the statement and the negative test results. Government call teams will be checking up on the travellers as well and if they are tipped off about infractions they will notify the authorities, NOS said.

The caretaker government, which had been working on a legal basis for mandatory quarantine since last year, is expected to decide on the matter on Friday.

The official government recommendation of all but essential travel abroad will be reviewed at the beginning of May to see if the rules can be relaxed after May 15, with an eye on the summer holidays.