The couple forced to go into quarantine after one of them tested positive for coronavirus at Schiphol airport left their isolation unit near Groningen on Tuesday night after being told they were allowed to go home

Carolina Pimenta and her friend Andres Sanz were taken to the hospital on Sunday after police arrested them at Schiphol airport where they had gone after leaving a quarantine hotel.

Haarlemmermeer mayor Marianne Schuurmans issued the quarantine order against the couple, claiming they were a risk to public safety.

Pimenta subsequently had several coronavirus tests, all of which proved negative, leading to the decision to lift the quarantine order.

Lawyer Bart Maes, who represented the couple, said that the couple would now be entitled to considerable compensation for their ordeal.

Apologies

Meanwhile, the Schiphol airport authorities, airline KLM and the Kennemerland regional health board have all apologized for the way passengers on two flights from South Africa on Friday were treated.

Numerous passengers have complained about being kept for hours on the plane without food or water, the lack of information and the lack of hygiene in the area where they were eventually taken inside the airport terminal.

In total, 61 of the 624 passengers tested positive for coronavirus, and 14 of them have since been found to have the Omicrom variant of the disease.