A massive sandstorm on the Canary Islands on Sunday and Monday resulted in hundreds of flights being canceled, and thousands of tourists being trapped at the airports. One family from Enschede spent hours at the airport on Gran Canaria on Sunday and Monday with five young children, mother Elske Trieschnigg said to Tubantia.
Covid-19
Feb 25 '20 12:39
A hotel on the Canary Island of Tenerife was placed under quarantine on Tuesday after one of its guests was diagnosed with coronavirus Covid-19. Around a thousand guests are currently staying in the H10 Costa Adja Palace hotel, including at least seven Dutch, NOS reports.
Feb 25 '20 09:17
Netherlands residents are not sure about how to use mouth caps or medical masks to prevent infection with the coronavirus Covid-19, according to a study by the Red Cross. The aid organization therefore advises people to prepare themselves well - also on the proper use of medical masks - before they travel, NOS reports.
Feb 25 '20 07:34
The outbreak of coronavirus Covid-19 in Italy prompted the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to warn against visiting a number of municipalities in the northern parts of the country. There is also an increased risk to visiting Rome, the Ministry said, NU.nl reports.
Feb 24 '20 15:10
Pricoh, an umbrella organization of 13 schools in Drenthe, sent parents a message on Sunday instructing them to visit a doctor and have their children tested for coronavirus Covid-19 if they traveled to Italy over the holiday. A secondary school in Assen decided to postpone an exchange program with a school in Italy due to the recent reports of Covid-19 cases in the country.
Feb 24 '20 08:23
A 24-year-old Dutch-Chinese woman was attacked in the elevator on the way to her student flat in Tilburg after she asked a group of young people to stop singing a racist song about the coronavirus at her. Cindy was left with a concussion and several cuts, she said to RTL Nieuws.
Feb 21 '20 07:58
39 Dutch who were on cruise ship Westerdam arrived at Schiphol Airport on Friday morning. Their plane, a chartered flight arranged by shipping company Holland America Line for 268 people on board the Westerdam, landed at 6:30 a.m. at the Amsterdam airport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to NU.nl.
Feb 20 '20 08:46
Air France-KLM expects that the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak in China will cost the company up to 200 million euros through to April. The Air France-KLM Group made this announcement as part of its year-end report, where the company took a 1.141 billion euro profit, down 264 million from a year earlier.
Feb 19 '20 16:10
The coronavirus epidemic in China is affecting more recreational activities than cruises and travels. Veendam company EDC Retail, which claims to be the European market leader in the erotic toy industry, warns that there will be a shortage of sex toys by April if the situation around Covid-19 doesn't change, ANP reports.
Feb 19 '20 11:10
Five Dutch passengers who were on board the quarantined Diamond Princess are now allowed to leave the cruise ship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday. The last passengers of Dutch cruise ship Westerdam who are still in Cambodia, are now also allowed to leave the country, shipping company Holland America Line said in a statement, NU.nl reports.
Feb 17 '20 08:47
The Dutch branch of the Red Cross launched a campaign on Monday asking the people of the Netherlands to contribute money in the fight against the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The organization says it needs the money for ambulance transportation, psychological and social assistance in China, and to help educate the public to prevent the virus from spreading.
Feb 14 '20 17:40
Shell instructed a number of its Singapore employees to work from home for the time being after the company confirmed that one employee was in close contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus Covid-19. The employee in question "is well with no symptoms", the Dutch petroleum company said.
Feb 14 '20 12:40
KLM issued an apology on Friday after a note posted on a toilet door on a flight from Amsterdam to Seoul caused an online uproar earlier this week. The note stated only in Korean that the toilet was only for cabin crew use. When a passenger asked about this, they were told that the note was hung as a precaution against the coronavirus 2019-nCoV, NU.nl reports.
The passenger snapped a picture of the note and posted it on social media, after which the hashtag #BoycottKLM was trending in Korea.
Feb 14 '20 09:18
The first passengers of Dutch cruise ship Westerdam were allowed to leave the ship during the early hours of Friday morning, Dutch time. The Holland America Line cruise ship docked in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville on Thursday after being refused by five Asian countries for fear of the coronavirus 2019-nCoV, now officially called Covid-19.
