Vaccinated Nurse Stuck In Mexico After Positive Coronavirus Test

DELANO, MN — A Children's Minnesota nurse didn't expect to be in Mexico for more than a few days as part of her daughter's spring trip, but now she is going on two weeks inside a Playa Del Carmen hotel room. Diane Schmidt accounts for one of what health officials call "breakthrough" cases: positive coronavirus test results in people who have already been fully vaccinated.

"It's a very small room," Schmidt, of Delano, Minnesota, told KARE-11. "They literally have a guard standing outside my door 24/7. You cannot leave."

Schmidt tested positive in Mexico when taking the virus test to clear her return to the United States, and she was immediately ordered to quarantine in the hotel room. She's glad she paid the hotel's $30 "COVID insurance" that gives her an extra 14 days in the room.

Although Schmidt was the only person vaccinated in the group of people she was on vacation with, she was the only one of the group to test positive before their scheduled return flight.

She told KARE-11 her case is "definitely an outlier."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said fully vaccinated people like Schmidt are safe to travel across the country and abroad. The Minnesota Department of Health has identified 222 breakthrough cases out of 1.8 million Minnesota residents who have received at least one vaccine dose.

"I would still highly recommend the vaccine," Schmidt said.

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