Coronavirus: 28 US Spring-Breakers Test Positive Following Mexican Trip

A group of 28 Americans returned from a vacation in Mexico this week and tested positive for [...]

A group of 28 Americans returned from a vacation in Mexico this week and tested positive for COVID-19 — the coronavirus. The group was at the popular resort of Cabo San Lucas, and returned home to Austin, Texas. All 28 are now in quarantine, according to a report by Global News.

The 28 Texas tested positive for coronavirus upon returning home from Mexico, the city of Austin announced on Tuesday. They were part of an even larger group of about 70 people, all in their 20s and taking the trip for spring break. Other members of their party are now self-isolating, and are being closely monitored by medical professionals.

"About a week and a half ago, approximately 70 people in their 20s departed in a chartered plane for a spring break trip," read the city of Austin's statement. "Currently, 28 young adults on this trip have tested positive for COVID-19 and dozens more are under public health investigation."

Some of the 28 people reportedly returned home on separate commercial flights. The news is disconcerting for Mexico as well as Texas, since Mexico currently a relatively low infection rate. The country reportedly has just over 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 20 confirmed deaths, compared to the over 207,000 cases in the U.S. and over 4,600 deaths.

When the students left of their trip, Mexico was not under a particular travel advisory from the U.S. federal government, though non-essential travel had already been advised against. The city of Austin said that "a leisure vacation of any kind is not considered essential.

The city added that it has contacted every "single spring breaker onboard the plane using flight manifests from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention."

The infected students got little sympathy on social media when the story broke this week. Many users said that the students should have known better, and should never have gone on their trip.

"I'd like for you to follow these fools to see who in their family got sick because of them. Really interested to see how this plays out," one person wrote.

"Why, WHY don't people listen anymore? It's just unbelievable to think about the irresponsibility here," added another.

"How many of these infected spring breakers went home to aging parents and grandparents who might succumb to this virus?" wondered a third. "This is UNACCEPTABLE."

Visit the CDC's website for the latest on the coronavirus pandemic.

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