Colombia expels French, Spanish couples for flouting isolation rule

Colombia expelled two French nationals and two Spaniards for violating coronavirus quarantine rules, immigration officials have said. The two couples separately took tourist trips in defiance of restrictions imposed on visitors from the worst-affected countries to try to limit the pandemic.

Colombia's President Ivan Duque on Wednesday ordered travelers from France, Spain, Italy and China to be isolated on arrival in the country. Immigration authorities said the couples had been expected to remain in isolation in their hotels for 14 days.

The French couple in their 60s, who arrived in the country on March 11, instead left their accommodation to take a tour to Mongui, about 150 miles away. The Spanish couple, aged 30 and 27, landed in Bogota on a flight from Madrid on March 12 but quickly left their hotel to tour the capital.

The Colombian immigration authority did not say if any of the four were suspected of carrying the coronavirus. It said in a statement on Saturday they were taken to Bogota's El Dorado International Airport and told to leave the country "immediately".

Colombia, which has 22 suspected cases of the coronavirus by Saturday, expelled a Spanish woman the day before for the same reason. On Friday, Colombia extended the restriction to foreigners arriving from across Europe and Asia, the main sources of the pandemic. Colombians arriving back in the country have to self-isolate..

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