US Students Test Positive for COVID-19 After Mexico Trip

A large group of around 70 people is under investigation in Austin, Texas after a Spring Break trip to Los Cabos, Mexico from March 14 to 19. The group is composed of students that attend the University of Texas.

From the 70 tested, 28 have tested positive for COVID-19, so far. More tests are pending but these numbers prove how infectious the virus really is. Health officials, according to NPR, reported that all are self-isolating at the moment. Of the 28 positive cases, four showed no symptoms at all. One reason for concern is that for the return flight various individuals chose to fly on separate commercial flights, widening the potential for the virus to spread even further.

The number of infections is significant in Texas. The state currently has 277 infections in total, meaning that this incident adds 10 percent to the tally. WHO officials say the incubation period for COVID-19 range from 1 to 14 days. This means that whether the students got infected in Mexico or not is still unclear. Considering there are more COVID-19 cases reported in the US than in Mexico, it might suggest that Mexico is more at risk from Americans traveling to Mexico than from them traveling back to the US. For the time being, the Ministry of Health has reported that Baja California has 17 COVID-19 cases.

More infections in either the US or Mexico due to Spring Breakers is becoming less likely. At the beginning of Spring Break, no travel restrictions were in place. Currently, all non-essential travel between the US and Mexico has been restricted. Furthermore, newspapers like The New York Post have reported that Spring Break has been cancelled in general.

Travel has proven to be key in spreading the disease, although at the moment countries such as Mexico are experiencing an internal spread of infections. (Add article). Cancelling what remains of the Spring Break will prove problematic for Mexico’s tourism sector. Read more about this topic here.